If it's not one thing, it's another
by NightShadow131
Summary: Legolas and Aragorn go on a simple hunting trip. But when is it ever a simple hunting trip? It's just one thing after another for those two... and even the twins!
1. Danger

Disclaimer: I wish....  
  
This is my first attempt at a LOTR fic so sry if it's bad or whatever. I have written a couple other fics so I kinda know how this works but I'm not that great of a writter so... yeah. Hopefully it turns out alright. Oh, it'll also be up to you whether or not I post the next chapt. I do have part of it written but if this fic turns out bad what'll be the point. This fic has poison as well. I think I have a fascination with it. -_-  
  
Warnings: Possible A/L... not sure. Ummmm.... Legolas in pain.... is that even anything knew? That's not really a warning either....  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes. Can't be helped.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter One  
  
Danger   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
He saw an arrow coming towards him but could do nothing to avoid it. He was already fighting three orcs.  
  
The blonde elf held back a cry of pain when the arrow pierced his left leg. He finished off two of the orcs that he had been fighting; then he went after the last one when his vision blurred and dizziness overwhelmed him. He fell to his knees. The elf tried to get up, knowing that if he didn't he would die by the last orc. Instead of getting up the rest of his body gave out and he fell all the way to the ground. The elf expected the blow to come; then he heard his companion give a battle cry while killing the orc that was about to strike the elf.  
  
"Legolas?" The ranger asked the elf, concerned. "Open your eyes."  
  
Legolas wearily opened his eyes after an internal struggle.  
  
Aragorn was relieved to see that his friend was conscious but was also worried when he saw the agony the elf's eyes held.  
  
"Hold on, this will hurt. I'm going to pull out the arrow." He broke off the tip of the arrow since it had gone all the way through. After that he pulled the arrow out. Legolas couldn't hold back his cry of pain and screamed.  
  
"I'm sorry, mellon nin."  
  
"Tis alright. You had to do it." Legolas said through pain. The elf went quiet. "We have to move. More orcs approach."  
  
When he stood up another wave of dizziness came over him and he closed his eyes.  
  
Aragorn was concerned for his friend and thought that he should check Legolas' wound out but he trusted Legolas' elven abilities and sensed the elf's urgency in the need to leave.  
  
Finally the blonde elf opened his eyes. He picked up his bow, that had fallen when he had and then he walked on. The ranger went to support Legolas seeing as he was swaying but the stubborn elf wouldn't let him.  
  
"Let me help you." He looked into Legolas' eyes and saw that his friend's pride wouldn't allow Aragorn help him but beyond the pride he could see pain. "If you let me help you we'll get out of here sooner."  
  
Aragorn went to help him again and got no protests. This worried him, normally Legolas would have argued further before giving in.  
  
They both had various cuts and bruises covering their bodies, some more major than others. Aragorn had a gash on one of his arms that prevented him from doing much with it since it didn't have any feeling. He hoped that they would get away from the orcs before they could attack. They were at a major disadvantage, not only did he have the use of only one arm but by the looks of it Legolas wouldn't be able to help him, he would have to protect him too. He really needed to bandage Legolas' injuries, especially the one from the arrow. He also highly suspected poison to be in one or more of the elf's wounds. It wasn't uncommon for the orcs to use poison. How else would the elf go down so quickly after the arrow? Sure it had been a hard battle but Aragorn would have gone down long before the elf.  
  
Legolas was breathing heavier and the ranger could tell it was getting harder for him to walk.  
  
'We have to get away from the orcs and find shelter, fast.' He thought, desperately looking around for anywhere they could escape their pursuers.  
  
Legolas gasped as his legs buckled from under him and he fell against Aragorn when he sank into unconsciousness.  
  
The ranger almost lost his balance in surprise at the shift of weight. He quickly stopped himself from falling and on instinct he checked for a pulse. He was relieved to find one, it was very erratic.  
  
Their pursuers were gaining on them. Aragorn quickly looked around and found a cave not far from them. 'If I can move fast enough maybe I'll be able to make it without the orcs seeing us. I'll just have to hope they don't search very hard for our tracks.' He thought while picking the elf up, ignoring the pain in his arm. He ran towards the cave.  
  
Aragorn made it to the cave with the orcs still behind them. He carefully layed Legolas on the ground, making sure not to further injure him.  
  
The ranger looked around the cave to check for any dangers. The cave extended farther down with nothing inhabiting it, luckily. 'The only thing that's gone right so far.' He thought dryly.  
  
He went back to Legolas and picked him up once again to bring him farther back into the cave so as not to attract as much attention as it would if he were close to the entrance.  
  
Aragorn made it to the back of the cave when he heard the orcs coming closer. 'Don't look in here.' He thought desperately.   
  
The ranger heard the heavy footsteps stop; then turn back. He wondered what had happened. When he heard no more steps he looked outside making sure that he wouldn't be seen, just incase.  
  
All confusion left when he saw that it was dawn.  
  
He went back to Legolas to check on him. He frowned at what he saw, not only had the elf not regained consciousness, which he usually would have by now, but his breathing was shallow and ragged. He was also sweating.   
  
Aragorn checked for a fever and found that Legolas had one, that disturbed him even more. Elves don't get sick. 'Definitely poison.' Legolas had his eyes closed, which was also a bad sign, for elves slept with their eyes open, unless in pain or exhaustion.  
  
There was very little light in the cave and it was hard to see what he was doing so he decided that he was going to have to get some wood to make a fire.  
  
"Legolas." To his surprise the elf actually opened his eyes. He had a confused look on his face but it was soon replaced when he remembered the orcs. Legolas tried to conceal his pain but the ranger could plainly see it. "I have to get some wood but I'll be right back."  
  
The tired elf just nodded slightly and closed his eyes again.  
  
'He must be really exhausted, not to mention in a lot of pain for he didn't even say anything.' His worry for his friend made him rush to find some wood.  
  
He returned surprisingly fast. The ranger wasted no time in starting the fire and getting the herbs that were needed. He made some tea for his friend that would lessen his pain.  
  
He winced when he tried to use his injuried arm, he had forgotten all about it in his haste to help Legolas.  
  
Unknown to him Legolas had been silently watching him for he couldn't get to sleep because the pain was too great. He saw Aragorn wince when he had tried to use his arm. "You should take care of that."  
  
Aragorn jumped in surprise, almost dropping the tea. "Trust you to worry about me when you're in far more danger and pain than I am." He said when he had regained his wits. "My wound is but a scratch."  
  
The blonde elf didn't believe him but didn't press the matter. He had a splitting headache. He unconsciously tried to bring his hand up to his head but winced when he felt a stabbing pain in his arm and stopped. He realized that he had injured his arm too.  
  
Aragorn frowned but didn't say anything, he would take care of his wounds later. "Drink this. It'll ease your pain." He carefully helped Legolas up so he could drink.  
  
Legolas found that the tea tasted different. Not only did it taste different but it had a different scent too. 'How could I have missed it?' He glarred at Aragorn when he realized the ranger had put something in the tea to make him fall asleep.  
  
Aragorn merely smiled at him. He was concerned on the inside though. The elf could usually tell that he had put something in it before he had even put the drink to his lips.  
  
The archer had fallen asleep soon after he drank the tea. Aragorn inspected Legolas' wounds; he found only one major one, which of course was the one on his leg. The one on his arm wasn't that bad and would quickly heal, especially with the help of elven healing ablilities.  
  
Before he could bandage all of Legolas' injuries he realized that he would have to bandage up his own injury before he did anything more. The arm that was injured was shaking too much and he couldn't do much with it. It had regained feeling though, which was always good.  
  
The ranger quickly put some herbs on the gash and wrapped it; then he got back to work on Legolas.  
  
The wound on Legolas' leg was still bleeding, not as much as before though. He was glad that he had decided to use the sleeping herbs on the elf otherwise he wouldn't be able to do much. Legolas probably wouldn't even let him look at them, saying it wasn't that bad and that it didn't hurt.  
  
"Stubborn elf." He muttered.  
  
He felt bad for Legolas though, what he was about to do would cause a lot of pain, even if the elf was asleep.  
  
Aragorn took out his knife and cut at the arrow wound a little, he had to in order to get some more blood flow. It had to come out more so he could get the poison out.  
  
The unconscious archer moaned and tried to get away from Aragorn but he held him still and whispered some elvish words to Legolas. It seemed to work a little, the elf calmed down a bit but still moaned and moved his head around a little.  
  
After a while Aragorn put pressure on the injury to stop the bleeding. This caused even more movents from Legolas. Aragorn wasn't sure if all the poison was out but couldn't afford to let him bleed anymore, it could kill him.  
  
It slowed enough for Aragorn to bandage it. He put some herbs on it and then bound it.  
  
When he was done with Legolas he looked himself over. He had a lot more injuries than Legolas but they were less severe. Well, the only severe one the elf had was his leg but that was a different matter. He checked his arm for poison, as well as other injuries, and was relieved to find none.  
  
He cursed his lack of being prepared. He didn't have much herbs with him nor bandages, they would have to return home quickly. They would surely run out of supplies soon. Also, they didn't have much food. This was supposed to be a simple hunting trip. 'When is it ever a simple hunting trip?' He questioned himself. Wherever they went, no matter how long, they always seemed to get into trouble. 'If it's not one thing, it's another.' He thought with a sigh. 'Looks like we'll have to endure another lecture from ada when we return.' He dreaded the thought but knew that they had to get back quickly because even if he did get all the poison from Legolas' wound they both would still need treatment.  
  
Aragorn heard the elf beside him stir. He moved closer and asked Legolas, "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Better." Legolas answered. Pain could be heard in his voice but he couldn't help it, especially since it was Aragorn he was talking to. Aragorn had known him too long to enable him to hid the pain. The tea bad dulled the pain though so he wasn't necessarily lying.  
  
"I'm sorry to do this, but we should take advantage of the sun and move." Aragorn said with regret. He didn't want to cause Legolas more pain but didn't know what to do to get rid of it. Besides they needed to start heading back.  
  
Legolas nodded his head and winced as the movement caused his headache to increase.  
  
The ranger noticed his wince but once again said nothing. He helped the elven archer to his feet.  
  
Legolas swayed when he got up and closed his eyes. It took longer than the other times but open his eyes he did.   
  
"I'm fine." He said when he saw Aragorn's worried face. "Let's go."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
So... how was it? Plz R&R! I would greatly appreciate it. I know poison has been done quite a bit but I think it's still interesting. I don't know exactly how this fic is going to go yet but I will soon enough... hopefully. -_- Once again it's up to you whether this continues or not.  
  
Oh, btw, does anyone know how to do the italics and bold? If you could tell me I would really appreciate it. Thx  
  
Well, ja ne for now. 


	2. More Trouble

Yay, people actually wanted the next chapt! Anywayz.... I dunno how good this chapt is but ya know..... well, you can just find out yourselves. Let me know how it is by reviewing, every author appreciates those. ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: I still don't own ;_;  
  
Warnings: Possible A/L... still not sure.   
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Two  
  
More Trouble  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Aragorn had been so focused on getting to Elrond that he hadn't noticed how hard he was pushing Legolas. He remembered about the elf's state when he heard some gasps coming from him.  
  
The ranger looked over and noticed Legolas had become very pale; he was also having trouble breathing.  
  
'Trust him not to tell me he needed to rest.' Aragorn thought mad at himself for forgetting about his friend. 'How could I forget?'  
  
"We shall find a place to rest." Aragorn said aloud.  
  
"Nay, we must keep moving for night approaches." Legolas argued back out of breath. He was in pain but what he said was true and they needed to move quickly for as long as possible.  
  
"You need to rest, mellon nin." Silently Aragorn set Legolas down, leaning him against the tree. He had still been supporting him after he had helped him up.  
  
The blonde elf surpressed a wince. Aragorn still saw Legolas tense but chose not to say anything, knowing the stubborn elf wouldn't admit anything. He made some tea.  
  
When the tea was done he brought it up to Legolas' lips. The elf just tightened his lips and slowly shook his head.  
  
"Legolas you must drink." Then he knew why he wouldn't drink it. Last time he had given Legolas tea it put him to sleep, and he probably didn't want to sleep. "Don't worry, Legolas, this time it's only for the pain."  
  
The elven archer saw no deceit in Aragorn's eyes so let the drink be given to him. "Hannon le, Estel." He was relieved to find himself not tired, well, not tired from the tea anyway. He had already been tired from their long walk. He was really exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep but they needed to move.  
  
Legolas stood up and once again was attacked by dizziness. He swayed dangerously and ended up falling against Aragorn. For once he was glad of the human's overprotectiveness.  
  
"Are you okay?" Aragorn said when the elf fell against him.  
  
"I'm fine." Legolas said when he regained his senses.  
  
"Perhaps you should rest a while longer." He said with concern.  
  
"Nay, I'm fine, Estel. Let's go." He started walking, a little unsteadily but still with his usual grace.  
  
"Stubborn elf." He muttered. Then he followed.  
  
Legolas just smiled at the human's comment, his elven hearing easily picking up what Aragorn had said.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
After a while Legolas wans't able to support himself that well and gave into Aragorn's pleas to let him help.  
  
He stopped and listened.  
  
"What's wrong, mellon nin?" Aragorn was worried that the elf had pushed himself too hard again.  
  
Legolas was quiet a while longer. Then he said, "Orcs. They're really close."   
  
'How did I miss them? They shouldn't have been able to get this close.' He thought mad at himself. His headache had only been getting worse as they walked. He brought his hand up to his temple, rubbing it.  
  
Aragorn gave Legolas a worried glace but the elf didn't notice it.  
  
"We'll have to find cover." The ranger said, not wanted to risk a fight.  
  
Legolas sighed. He brought his hand back down to his side and then continued, this time to find shelter instead of going to Elrond.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
An arrow wizzed by Aragorn's head, barely missing. He sighed after getting over the shock. 'We must fight, there's no avoiding it.' He thought none too happy.  
  
The ranger brought Legolas to a tree with a bush in front of it so it would hide Legolas; he leaned the elf against it.  
  
Aragorn was worried. The only thing you could hear from him was his labored breathing. He hadn't said anything in a while.  
  
Then he heard the orcs. They were getting really close. At first he was just going to stay hidden but didn't think it possible. He had to protect Legolas and couldn't do it if they found him where he was now; there was little room to fight.  
  
The ranger looked at Legolas again, still seeing no movement. He didn't want to leave his friend unprotected.  
  
Then he heard the orcs again and it was decided. There would be no way he could avoid fighting so didn't want to be where he was now since there was little room. He moved to the next tree quietly so as not to attract attention to Legolas. One of the orcs somehow caught his movements and yelled to the others. They all charged.  
  
Aragorn pulled his sword out and got ready.  
  
There was a fairly large amount of orcs but he'd probably be able to take them all out. He still wanted Legolas fighting by his side as usual but knew it wasn't possible.  
  
The first orc attacked and he easily blocked it and killed him.  
  
The battle had been ragging for a while and he had gotten several injuries, none serious though. Most of the orcs were dead. His injured arm was paining him again and it was getting harder for him to use it, not to mention wield his sword effectively.  
  
An orc that he thought dead, grabbed his legs.  
  
He shouted as he unexpectedly lost his balance and fell. When he had fallen he had hit his head on a large, sharp rock.   
  
He fought against unconsciousness, when he saw a slender figure standing protectively over him. The figure stood unsteadily but held its ground.  
  
He then realized that the figure was Legolas. Aragorn wanted to get up to help his injured friend but he could no longer fight unconsciousness and gave in.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Legolas was exhausted. They had walked for a long time and his leg was throbbing in pain. He didn't even notice when Aragorn lowered him against a tree nor did he hear the orcs. He snapped out of his trance when he heard swords as if there was a battle going on. The elf looked around. No sign of Aragorn. He got really worried.  
  
He slowly got up, leaning against the tree for support. When he stood up he saw Aragorn not too far away. He had gotten farther away while fighting, not purposely of course. The orcs were too busy fighting Aragorn to notice the elf.   
  
Legolas tried to get to the ranger quickly, perhaps too quickly for he almost fell when a wave of nausea threatened him. He leaned on a tree, breathing deeply. Getting his nausea under control he headed back towards Aragorn.  
  
The elf quickened his pace when he heard Aragorn shout. He got even more worried when he didn't hear the swords clashing.  
  
Legolas pulled out his bow and notched an arrow. He released it and shot at the orc that was about to kill Aragorn, by then he had gotten close enough to attack.  
  
Against the protests of his arm he fired a few more.  
  
The few orcs that were left were too shocked to attack at first so this gave Legolas time to get close to Aragorn and kill a few more orcs.  
  
Once he had gotten close enough he pulled out his twin knives and killed a couple orcs. It hadn't taken him long to get to Aragorn's body. When he had he surpressed his urge to check on him, noticing that he was breathing, and he stood protectively above him.  
  
The orcs had finaly realized what was going on and started attacking together. Before they had been attacking him one by one as Legolas came to them.  
  
It was hard for Legolas to keep up since he was so exhausted and felt weak but he did it nonetheless.  
  
He finally killed the last orc and fell to his knees. He almost collapsed but he needed to check on Aragorn before he would allow himself any rest.  
  
The elf crawled in an unelflike manner, to Aragorn, who wasn't far away. He had only gotten to check his pulse when the darkness took him once again and he couldn't do anything to stop it. He fell next to Aragorn unconscious.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
When he awoke the first thing he noticed was the grass he was laying on. He groaned and turned over facing the sky. By the looks of it he had been out for quite a while. It had been night during the battle, now the sun was beginning to rise.  
  
He quickly sat up regretting the action as soon as he had done it. The pain caused him to fall back down.  
  
This time, getting up slower, he turned facing Aragorn seeing him still unconscious.  
  
'Not a good sign.' Legolas thought worriedly. He checked Aragorn and noticed that there was dry blood on the side of his head. 'At least it's not bleeding anymore.' He thought trying to reassure himself, not doing a good job at all.  
  
The elf looked at the wound carefully and noticed that it wasn't that deep. Unfortunately he didn't know much about healing, being a warrior. He only knew of the basics. Aragorn was much better in these types of situations. Legolas was also really tired but refused to fall asleep, he had to help Aragorn first.  
  
Legolas bandaged Aragorn's head wound and his other injuries.   
  
After a while Aragorn started to stir, for which Legolas was thankful for, he was getting really worried. The ranger looked at Legolas. "You don't look well, my friend." He said after a while.  
  
"Nor do you." Legolas said simply, trying to avoid questions about himself.  
  
Aragorn's eyes widened when he remembered the battle. "You didn't get hurt did you?"  
  
"Nay, I'm fine." He didn't think it worth mentioning his minor injuries, they didn't hurt anyway. "How are you feeling? You must have quite the headache."  
  
Aragorn decided that there was not point in lying so he just admitted that he did.  
  
"I bandaged your wounds as best I could but I'm no healer, as you know." He said tiredly.  
  
"They're fine. You did a good job."  
  
A hand touched his forhead, startling the elf, he hadn't realized he had closed his eyes. "You're burning up."   
  
"Tis nothing to worry about." He stood up, this time only swaying a little, forcing himself not to show Aragorn how horrible he really felt. "Can you stand up?"  
  
"I think so." Aragorn also stood up and as soon as he did he felt the world spin and would have fallen over if not for Legolas' support.  
  
Leglas gasped when he caught Aragorn, the extra weight on his leg caused even more pain.  
  
Aragorn regained his senses and stood up on his own, much to the elf's relief.  
  
Aragorn hadn't heard the elf's gasp when he leaned on him so didn't question him about it. "Well, shall we go?" Aragorn said a bit reluctant to go anywhere. He just wanted to sleep. His head was pouding.  
  
Legolas nodded slightly, feeling nauseous.  
  
Aragorn looked over when he didn't hear Legolas say anything and just saw his slight nod. He noticed that the elf had looked even more pale than he had before. 'Some of the poison must still be in him.' He realized with dread. 'We need to move faster.' Aragorn was in front of Legolas so just picked up his pace, ignoring the pain in his head. He knew that Legolas would also move faster since he was following him and he wanted to keep up.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Aragorn's headache had grown worse and he had been slowing down. It was hard to concentrate on anything so he hadn't noticed that Legolas was getting farther behind. He finally noticed his mistake and turned around when he didn't find Legolas next to him. He found the elf quite a ways behind him, stumbling along trying to keep up. He turned around and walked back to Legolas.  
  
"I'm sorry, mellon nin. I should have been paying more attention." Getting no answer and seeing how Legolas was breathing really hard, he slowly lowered the elf to the ground. They couldn't afford a long break for Aragorn had to get Legolas to Elrond fast so he could get the rest of the poison out of Legolas' system.  
  
"Breath slowly." He said trying to calm the elf down. "That's it. Just keep breathing slowly." He said soothingly. Also saying a few words in elvish hoping to calm him down.  
  
After a few minutes Legolas controled his breathing and looked up at Aragorn. He saw the worried look in his eyes and said, "I'm alright now, Estel."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Well, that's the end of that. I think that was kinda weird spot to end it but ya know... that's how it's goin' to be. Yeah, I was goin' to say something else but I don't remember what so... . yeah. Plz leave a review. Oh, plz tell me if you now how to do the bold or italics.  
  
Ja ne for now. 


	3. Elrond

I'm glad people are still enjoying it. ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it? ....I don't think so....  
  
Warnings: Okay, I've decided that I'm not going to have it be A/L. Not only are people asking for it not to be but I think it would be kinda odd for me to make it be now; I don't think it would go along with the story if I added it so... yeah. For you people who didn't want it to be shounen-ai... there ya go. ^_^  
  
Oh, I don't know if I actually described Imladris correctly, then again, I didn't really explain much. ^^;;  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.  
  
*************************************   
  
I redid this chapt and wanted to thank the people that pointed a few things out.  
  
Deanna: Thx for the reviews and with the help of spelling Imladris. (If that made any sense) ^^;;  
  
Jadesaber: Also thank you for pointing out the spelling. I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out, won't ya? ^_^  
  
Lyn: Yeah, you are correct and thank you for pointing that out. I put that thinking that he was unconscious, which he wasn't so.... arigatou. I hope it's better now, if not tell me how I can fix it.  
  
Okay, I think that I fixed the major things. I will go back and fix all the minor errors. Thx for all the reviews!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Elrond  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"I wish we had more time to rest but we must continue." Aragorn said with regret. Even though he was also in pain from his head injury and his arm, which wasn't as bad as before, he thought his friend's life was a much more important matter.  
  
He helped Legolas up and didn't let go. The elf would just have to give up his pride this one time. Aragorn wasn't going to him walk by himself again, it was too much of a risk to the elf's health.  
  
Much to his relief and worry, Legolas didn't argue about having Aragorn help him. The archer actually leaned on him more than usual and kept quiet. The only thing you could hear between the two was Legolas' labored breathing.  
  
'The poison must be taking a stronger hold.' He thought with concern. 'We can't move any faster though, I don't want to push him too hard again.'  
  
Legolas tripped and fell. Even though he wasn't going at a fast pace his body could no longer put up with his movements. He was lucky that Aragorn had been supporting him, otherwise he would have fallen.  
  
Aragorn looked into his eyes and saw that they were glazed over and he saw that Legolas was in even more pain than before.  
  
"Estel... some-something's.... wrong. The.... the pain's worse..... than i-it was....before." Legolas struggled to get the words out between gasps of pain.  
  
It broke Aragorn's heart hearing his friend struggle to speak and the actual words saddend him too. 'He must be in terrible pain if he's admitting that.' He thought knowing that Legolas usually doesn't admit to even the worst pain.  
  
Legolas screamed.  
  
"What's wrong?!" Legolas was really scaring him.  
  
"The.... the pain." He screamed again and went limp.  
  
"Legolas?!" He checked Legolas' pulse, relieved when he found one.  
  
He picked the unconscious elf up and hurriedly went towards Imladris.  
  
Legolas started shaking violently in his arms so he stopped and took off his cloak; he put it on Legolas, hoping it would help him. Aragorn picked him up again and despite the pain in his arm, not to mention his head, he kept going. Unfortunately the cloak hadn't helped and the elf was still shaking, not as much as before though.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Aragorn had been walking for what felt like forever but he knew it had only been a few hours, if that. He was exhausted and had to stop, it was getting too dark to travel anyway, with all the orcs, wargs and other creatures that came out looking for prey during the night.  
  
The ranger found a secluded area where they would be well hidden. He carefully put Legolas down and started a fire. He wanted to sleep but he had to keep watch and tend to Legolas.  
  
Aragorn prepared the herbs that were needed and went to Legolas. Gently, he unwrapped the bandage that was around Legolas' leg. It had an ugly black tint around the edges and it looked like it hadn't healed at all since he last looked at it. When he put the herbs onit he noticed that Legolas winced and heard that he had whimpered quietly. He wrapped it up again.  
  
Aragorn was really tired after he was done but still had to keep watch so he sat next to Legolas; pulled his legs to his chest and rested his head on his arms. He closed his eyes just for a moment.....  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A ray of sunshine broke through the trees, right on Aragorn's face. He slowly woke up. He opened his eyes and squinted against the sun's light. 'Sun?' He quickly realized what that meant and groaned. 'It's a good thing nothing attacked us during the night.' He thought relieved. 'I was supposed to keep watch. I shouldn't have closed my eyes.' He was mad at himself for how weak his resolve had been.  
  
Aragorn heard Legolas gasp and quickly looked over. He noticed that the elf's breathing was very shallow and he was dreanched in sweat. He had only gotten worse over night. Aragorn decided that they needed to leave.  
  
He went to pick Legolas up but when he tried the blonde elf gave out a cry of pain.  
  
"Legolas?!"  
  
"Do not...."  
  
"Do not what?"  
  
"Do... do not... pick me up. Just... leave me... here... please."  
  
"You know I cannot do that, mellon nin." He tried to pick him up again. The elf gave a shrill scream.  
  
Aragorn immediately let go. As soon as he did Legolas tried to curl up in a ball as best he could, trying to escape the pain, to no avail. His breathing came in quick gasps.  
  
Aragorn was very worried for his friend now, and scared. What could he do? He couldn't even pick him up without causing major pain. Then he got an idea. He quickly started the fire again, which had gone down when it was left unattended during the night. Once he got the fire going again he got his herbs together and made the tea. He brought it over to Legolas.  
  
"Legolas, you have to drink this. It'll help ease the pain." The elf gave no sign of movement.  
  
Aragorn carefully moved him into a possition where he could drink the tea. Aragorn flinched when he heard Legolas scream but didn't stop, he had to give him the tea. He poured a little bit of the tea down Legolas' throat and he swallowed. Aragorn kept repeating, it was a long process because he didn't want to pour too much or Legolas would choke but he did it nonetheless, it was important after all.  
  
Legolas started to fall asleep but before he did he said something to Aragorn. "Hannon le." He had said it so quietly that Aragorn almost couldn't hear him. He was even more sad now. Legolas actually thanked him, thanked him for putting him asleep without asking him. He was always mad at him for doing that, even the last time he did had done it, which had only been about a couple days ago.  
  
Aragorn sighed heavily and put everything away, leaving no trace of them. When he was done he picked Legolas up and continued towards Elrond.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Aragorn heard voices yelling his and Legolas' name. Then he recognized the voices.  
  
"Elladan! Elrohir! Over here!"  
  
He saw two horses come up to him with elven riders on each, his foster brothers. They were twins, having brown hair with fair skin; they both held a look of concern.  
  
"Are you well?" They asked simultaneously.  
  
"Aye, I'm well but Legolas got poisoned by an orc arrow and is in need of help."   
  
"Give him here." Elladan said with a frown. "I'll take him back. It'll be faster this way."  
  
Reluctantly Aragorn handed Legolas over to him. Once Elladan had a good hold on Legolas he quickly took off, trying not to let Legolas move too much. Even with all his efforts the elf in his arms still whimpered in pain.  
  
"Shall we go?" Elrohir offered his hand to Aragorn.  
  
He just nodded and took his brothers hand. He got up on the horse in front of Elrohir.  
  
"What happened to your head?" Elrohir asked concerned.  
  
"Orcs." Was Aragorn's short reply.  
  
"Do you have any other painful injuries?"  
  
"Nay." They continued a little ways in silence.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Aragorn felt the horse stop. Somehow he had fallen asleep during the ride.  
  
"You must be really exhausted to fall asleep on a horse, especially at the pace we were going." Aragorn didn't say anything and just closed his eyes again.   
  
Elrohir jumped off his horse with grace and helped Aragorn down. Aragorn reopened his eyes in pain when Elrohir accidently grabbed his injured arm and it also caused Aragorn to hiss in pain.  
  
"I thought you had no other injuries?" Elrohir asked in concern.  
  
"Tis nothing to worry about." Aragorn walked, almost ran to where he thought Legolas was going to be.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Ada!" Elladan yelled when he got into the gates of Imladris. He jumped off his horse, also with grace that every elf possesed. He ran up the stairs to the healing rooms.  
  
"Where's Estel?" He asked when he saw no sign of his foster son. "What happened to Legolas?" He questioned when his eyes fell onto the shivering form in Elladan's arms.  
  
"Estel is fine. It seems as though they ran into some orcs and Legolas ended up getting poisoned by an arrow." Elladan explained as quickly as he could while still walking.  
  
He got to the rooms and placed Legolas gently on a bed; then he stepped aside so Elrond could help him.  
  
It was easy to find where Legolas had been wounded for blood seeped through the bandage and it left a dark red stain on his clothes.  
  
"Help me get them off so I can tend to his wound easier." Elrond said refering to Legolas' pants.  
  
Elladan quickly came to his father's side and helped him. Legolas moaned in pain but still remained asleep.  
  
Elrond removed the bandage that had been placed on the injury and inspected it. It had gotten even darker than it had been. "I'll have to create an antidote, I'm sure Estel has already tried to get rid of the poison on his own." He said more to himself.  
  
Just then Aragorn rushed into the room and ran to Legolas' side. He saw that the elf was still sleeping and that his breathing was still shallow and came in quick gasps. Elrond rebandaged it after putting various herbs on it, some that Aragorn hadn't had with him.  
  
"Watch him, Estel. I'm going to make an antidote." He hoped that he would actually be able to. He wasn't sure if this was the same poison he had encountered before.  
  
Aragorn just nodded. Elrohir had gotten there and brought a bowl filled with cold water and a piece of cloth to be used on Legolas. Aragorn gratefully took it and dipped the cloth into the water and ran it along Legolas' face. He could feel the unnatural heat radiating from his body and knew that the fever had only risen.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Legolas felt the cold upon his face and tried to open his eyes, at first it didn't work but he slowly got them to open.  
  
He saw Aragorn's face looking worriedly down at him. He gave a weak smile, glad that his friend was alright.  
  
Aragorn sadly smiled back.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
I decided to put the next chapt out sooner cuz I don't think I'll be able to post the next 'til Thursday.... guess we'll just have to see.   
  
I will go back through and check for spelling errors, I just thought that some of you would want the next chapt.  
  
Ja ne ^_~ 


	4. Another Trip

Disclaimer: I'm done doing this.  
  
Warnings: No A/L. Kinda sad. ;_;  
  
This chapt was hard to write. It's hard when you have two fics with poison in it (stupid that I did it in the first place.. shows my imagination -_-) I'm trying to make it where they don't sound too alike. I think it's kinda workin'.... I hope so anywayz.  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.  
  
*************************************   
  
Review Responses  
  
*~inulover28 - Glad you're still enjoying it.  
  
*~Star-Stallion - I kinda wanted it to be one, but it didn't go with what I was doin'. *sighs* Oh well.  
  
*~galadriel evenstar - Don't worry, he'll get taken care of.  
  
*~Gozilla - Thx!  
  
*~BabeyRachey - Poor Legolas indeed. ^_^ Who could forget about Estel? ^^  
  
*~Deanna - look at the beginning of the last chapt  
  
*~Lyn - same as Deanna's  
  
*~Jadesaber - same as the above two  
  
Those are only responses to the third chapt. I think I'm going to do responses from now on, I might end up skippin' a chapt or so though.... dunno.   
  
Thx to everyone for reading and a big thx to those of you who reviewed. ^_^  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Another Trip  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Elladan looked at Aragorn noticing that he was hurt too. He hadn't really seen it before, he had been too concerned with Legolas' condition. He also hadn't gotten a good look since he had to take Legolas to Imladris as fast as he could. Elladan had noticed the bandage on Aragorn's head, of course, but didn't get a chance to question about it. Aragorn looked exhausted and it looked as though he were about to fall asleep.  
  
Elladan stood up and walked over to Aragorn. "Let me take care of your injuries." He said gently so he wouldn't startle Aragorn. It looked like he was lost in his thoughts.  
  
The ranger looked up at him and said, "My injuries are of no importance. Legolas is in much more need."  
  
"Estel, you need to take care of yourself. I'm going to help you whether you agree to it or not." Elladan said sternly. "You should rest as well. What good will you be to Legolas if you're too exhausted to do anything?" He added the part about Legolas knowing that it was Aragorn's weakness at the moment.  
  
Aragorn reluctantly stood up and walked to a different bed. He sat down.  
  
Elladan smiled and grabbed the herbs and other things that were needed. He first checked the head wound, that he thought was wrapped by Legolas by the way it was treated. Legolas hadn't done a bad job, it just didn't look like the work of a healer. Aragorn winced when his brother took off the bandage and started putting the herbs on it. He still had a headache but not nearly as bad as it was before.  
  
"I need you to lay down." Elladan's voice startled Aragorn. He had been paying attention to Legolas and had gotten lost in his own thoughts. Once he recovered he brought his legs up on the bed and lowered himself down, all the while looking at Legolas, wishing that for once they could get back unscathed.  
  
"Fear not, Estel, Legolas will be fine. You know him, he's too stubborn to give up." Elladan told him with a smile.  
  
Aragorn just nodded. Then there was silence once again as Elladan went over Aragorn's injuries.  
  
Legolas' eyes snapped open. He quickly sat up and even though he was coughing harshly he continued to make himself stand. As soon as he started to run for the door his legs crumpled beneath him and he fell. This all happened before Aragorn or anyone else could stop him. They were all shocked at Legolas' sudden need to get up and leave. The blonde elf hadn't moved in a while and he just woke up wanting to leave.  
  
Aragorn quickly got up from the bed and went to Legolas, after he had gotten over his shock, of course.  
  
"What's wrong? Why did you want to leave so quickly?" He asked quietly so he wouldn't alarm the elf, seeing that he was already frightened for some reason.  
  
Legolas looked at him startled. Apparenly Aragorn's attempt in not scaring him hadn't worked. He tried to get up again but Aragorn wouldn't allow him to. Whatever Legolas dreamed must have deeply troubled him.  
  
"What is it, mellon nin?" He tried again.  
  
Legolas' eyes were darting back and forth between the door and Aragorn. Finally he stated, "I... I must go. You... you are all in danger if.. if I stay."  
  
Legolas was starting to scare him now, the look on his face was one of horror that Aragorn had never seen on the elf before and it frightened him to see it now.  
  
"Why are we in danger?" He tried to get more information from the terrified elf.  
  
"They... they are a-after me."  
  
"No one is after you, Legolas." Aragorn tried to reassure him, it didn't seem to work though.  
  
"Calm down, Legolas. Everything is alright." Elladan had came over to help calm the elf down with Aragorn. He also had no effect on Legolas. "I'll get ada." He figured that he would know what to do. He quickly left.  
  
Elrohir, who had came over as well, tried to help Leoglas up. Aragorn also helped him, they wanted to get Legolas back into his bed. They hoped that he would be able to get more rest, they all knew how much he needed it.  
  
As soon as they started heading towards the bed Legolas started struggling. "Nay, I must go the other way. I have to leave." They could both tell that Legolas wouldn't be able to struggle much longer, his attempts were getting weaker.  
  
"I must leave. You-"  
  
Before he could finish his sentence the blonde elf passed out and fell against Elrohir. He quickly shifted his balance so he wouldn't drop Legolas. Aragorn and Elrohir gently put him back on his bed and pulled the covers back over him.  
  
"It is getting worse." Aragorn mumbled to himself worriedly. He was shocked over what had just happened.  
  
Elladan came back with Elrond at his heels.   
  
"What happened?" Elrond asked since Elladan didn't tell him anything, only that he had to come quickly.  
  
"I think he is delirious now." Aragorn started. "He just woke up and said that him being here was putting us in danger and that he needed to leave."  
  
Elrond listened while he looked at Legolas.  
  
"He quickly got out of bed and attempted to leave but his injured leg wouldn't allow it so he collapsed. He still tried to get away but he fell unconscious before he could get anywhere." Elrohir finished.  
  
Elrond nodded.  
  
"Did you find the antidote yet?" Aragorn asked anxiously.  
  
"I'm afraid not." Elrond said absentmindedly. He placed his hand on Legolas' forhead and frowned. It seem like his fever had risen dangerously high. "How long did he try to leave before he fell unconscious?" He asked concerned, still checking the elf.  
  
"Not too long." Elrohir answered. "I do not know exactly how long, we were a little distracted."  
  
Elrond took off the bandage that was on Legolas' leg and looked at it. It had started to bleed again. 'Will they ever come back unharmed?' He thought for a second and shook his head. It was Legolas and Aragorn he was thinking about.  
  
Lord Elrond grabbed the herbs that had already been prepared before he came in. He knew they would be needed so had gotten them ready earlier, he had a lot of experience with orc's poison before. Each time the poison seemed different, which wasn't any fun for him. The lord put the herbs on the wound and rebandaged it. The only movement he got from Legolas was some twitching, which greatly worried him. Even if he was unconscious he normally responded more than that.  
  
Elrond finished up; then said, "Make sure he stays in bed. What he just did put too much strain on his already tired body." He sighed heavily. "I am going to look for the antidote again. I he wakes up give him something to ease the pain and that will make him sleep. If he gets any worse get me immediately."  
  
They all nodded and watched Elrond leave. Then they turned their attention back to Legolas. The blonde archer wasn't moving at all. Th eonly way you could tell he was alive was from his ragged breathing.  
  
"Estel, I did not finish looking at your wounds. Would you site back down on the bed?" Elladan said after a while. He knew that Aragorn wasn't going to move so he went next to him and pulled him up from the chair he was sitting on.  
  
The ranger knew that he wouldn't be able to get away without having his wounds looked at so he just went along with Elladan. He layed back down when he got to the bed.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Elladan had long finished with Aragorn. They were all waiting for Elrond to return with the antidote. Elrohir had started pacing back and forth by the door, Elladan and Aragorn were sitting next to Legolas watching him. He still hadn't moved since he tried to escape. It was making them all scared.  
  
"Elrohir, stop pacing. You're making me nervous." Elladan finally told his twin. He had been pacing for about ten minutes now.  
  
"I cannot help it. We are just sitting here watching. It hurts to know that we are not able to help him; you can tell he is in pain." Elrohir stopped to reply. He first looked to Elladan but then his eyes went back to the elf lying in bed.  
  
It was true that you could tell Legolas was in pain, even though in deep sleep. His eyes were tightly shut and his hands were grasping the blanket tightly.  
  
The doors opened and Elrond came striding in. They all looked.  
  
It hurt Elrond to see the look of hope in their eyes for he had no good news. "I am afraid that I cannot make an antidote. I need a sample of the poison." Their hopeful look quickly changed to one of disappointment.  
  
"I will go." Aragon spoke up. He had to save Legolas. Legolas would do the same for him. Besides he couldn't just sit here and watch his best friend die.  
  
"You will not. You are not yet recovered." Elrond said firmly.  
  
"I have to! He is my best friend and I will not sit by and watch him die!" He said angry for being denied the chance to save Legolas.  
  
Elrond was about to protest again when Elladan spoke.  
  
"Both Elrohir and I will go with him. We will try to find the arrow that hit Legolas and bring it back." He turned to Aragorn. "Do you remember where you pulled the arrow out?"  
  
Aragorn nodded. He hoped that he'd be able to go. Well, he would do anyway. He would just have to sneak out if Elrond didn't let him go. He also hoped that Elladan and Elrohir would be able to go with, he didn't want to run into more orcs and have to fight them all off himself, especially since he was still injured.  
  
Elrond sighed. He knew that there was no way he'd be able to convince Aragorn not to go and thought that if he did go it would be better for the twins to go with. Hoping that this one time nothing bad would happen to them, he let them go. He knew that Aragorn had a thing for attracting trouble without realizing it, so he was already worried and they hadn't even left yet!   
  
Elladan and Elrohir had both left to get their things together, but Aragorn hesitated before leaving. He was looking at Legolas.  
  
"Fear not, ion nin, I will watch him."  
  
Aragorn nodded; then left, knowing that Elrond would never lie to him, especially at the risk of someone's life.  
  
Elrond sat down on the chair that had been placed next to Legolas' bed. He sighed. 'I'm getting too old for this.'  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Hope it was good. Yeah, not smart to have two fics involving poison. Nope nope. Well, I'm off to bed. It's 3:10am, whoa when'd that happen....  
  
Plz review!  
  
Ja ne ^_~ 


	5. Leaving

Disclaimer: In my dreams.....  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes. I'll go through and get them later.  
  
*************************************   
  
Review Responses  
  
*~inulover28 - Poor elf indeed. We'll just have to see about him gettin' better. ^^;;  
  
*~amy - Thx! Yeah, I'm a fan of shounen-ai too, but it just didn't seem to fit with this story. If I do write another LOTR fic I'll have an A/L pairing in it. ^_^ I wanted this one to have it, but it just didn't work out that way, unfortunately.   
  
*~galadriel evenstar - Hmmm.... guess you'll just have to read to find out. ^_^  
  
*~Star-Stallion - Lol! True true.  
  
Thx to everyone for reading and a big thx to those of you who reviewed. ^_^  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Leaving  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Elrond had ben sitting beside Legolas while his sons got ready to leave. He still hadn't seen much movement from the younger elf. Once in a while he would turn his head and mutter something but that wasn't very often. He was really worried for the elf and wished he could do more to help him.  
  
The door opened interupting him from his thoughts. His sons walked in looking ready to leave.  
  
"You took some herbs, right?" They had packed a lot faster than they normally did so he had to make sure. He didn't want one of them to get injured and have nothing to treat it with.  
  
"Of course." Elladan answered, walking to the shelf next to him to grab some bandages, hoping that they wouldn't be needed.  
  
They all took one last look at Legolas wishing that they already had the antidote for him.  
  
"Namarie." They said to both of the elves they were leaving.  
  
"We will return soon." Aragorn said; then reluctantly left.  
  
Elrond stared at the door after them. "Ride fast, my sons." He wished them the best of luck. With that he turned his attention back to the ailing elf beside him. "Stay with us Legolas."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
They were in a fierce battle with many orcs. There were too many enemies to count and their strength was quickly failing. They had long since abandoned their bows and were using their swords or knives. Bodies of the dead were surrounding them, luckily the four of them hadn't fallen.  
  
The elf looked over at Aragorn seeing that the human was near collapsing. He was more worried for the rangers health than his own, knowing that elves had more stamina than the human had. He was about to help him when he heard, more than saw an orc about to attack him. His warrior skill enabled him to dodge the attack. He used all of his strength to drive the knife into the creatures chest. He twisted the knife and pulled it out, quickly killing the foul creature.  
  
The elf heard a scream and turned in time to see Aragorn fall face first onto to ground. The orc that had caused him to fall raised his sword and delivered the final blow, killing the ranger.  
  
He quickly started running towards Aragorn's fallen body. He fought off all enemies in his way. Once he got there he checked for a pulse and was horrified when he found none. He looked up for his other companions. He found Elladan was quickly becoming overpowered and wouldn't be able to fight much longer.  
  
The elf looked for his third companion, who also had dark hair like Elladan. He couldn't find him so he stood up. He was greatly worried, Elrohir wasn't among the the ones standing. He finally found him, also on the ground; fairly close to where he was standing. He could tell from where he was that he wasn't breathing.  
  
The blonde elf had been lucky that he hadn't been killed for how long he was just standing there looking for his friends but his luck quickly changed when more orcs approached him. This time it wasn't just one but lots, too many for him to fight off.   
  
He killed a few of them and then felt a sharp pain run through his back. He fell to the ground, unable to get up. The orcs continued to unmercifully stab him.  
  
"Legolas!!" Elrohir cried when he saw Legolas fall and was unable to help him, fighting off more and more orcs. That was the last thing Legolas heard before blackness consumed him.  
  
He was shaking. 'Wait, how am I shaking? I thought I died.' He paused. 'How am I thinking in the first place?' He thought very confused.  
  
The blonde elf faintly heard someone calling him.  
  
Instead of the eternal darkness he expected, he saw some light.  
  
Somehow, without realizing it, he opened his eyes. He was starring at Elrond's worried face above him.  
  
"By the Valar, you scared me." Elrond said with a sigh of relief. When the elf beside him started shaking uncontrolably and gasping for breath he thought that it might have been too late to help him.  
  
Legolas blinked, his mind slowly processing what the elder elf had said. "Estel? Elladan and Elrohir?" Legolas croaked. He was surprsed by his own voice. It sounded frightened and weak.  
  
Elrond was confused. What did Legolas want to know about his sons and why? Maybe he wanted to know where they were. "They just left not too long ago."  
  
Legolas' eyes widened. "Where?"  
  
"Wherever you were when Estel first treated your wounds." Something was obviously wrong with Legolas, he looked scared. He stilll answered his questions hoping to ease his worries. Why he was even worried in the first place, he did not know.  
  
Legolas quickly tried to get up but got pushed back down by Elrond. He still struggled to get up though, thinking that he others were in danger. Elrond held him down. He didn't want the younger elf to struggle but he couldn't just let him go, that would only make him worse. All the struggling was going to cause him a lot of pain later.  
  
"Let me go. They are in danger." Legolas shouted while trying to break free.  
  
"I do not know of what you dreamed but nothing happened to them. I promise you." Even with these words the blonde elf still didn't calm down and still tried to leave. "Stop, Legolas, before you cause yourself more pain."  
  
Not long after he said this Legolas stopped but not on his own will, he had again fallen unconscious.  
  
Elrond sighed and sat back down, hoping that his sons would return quickly.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"I think it was right up there." Aragorn said pointing ahead.  
  
They had been riding for a few hours and had finally arrived at their destination. They were at the clearing where his and Legolas' battle had taken place against the orcs. There were still bodies around them.  
  
"How are we going to find the one arrow through all this?" Elrohir asked, voicing everyone's thoughts.  
  
"I think that it was over here." Aragorn said, riding to the place he thought he'd pulled it out at. His voice held some uncertainty though.  
  
The twins exchanged a glance, shrugged; then followed.  
  
After searching for about an hour they finally found an arrow tip that was broken off. "This has to be it. I broke the tip off before I pulled it out of Legolas' leg." Aragorn carefully picked it up making sure not to touch the tip and put it in a pouch he brought along for this purpose. He tied the pouch to his belt; then jumped back on his horse. The elves did the same.  
  
Excited that they had finally found the arrow, they left. They hoped the journey back home would turn out to be as uneventful as it was on the way. It would be one of the first times they had returned unharmed but they could hope. They all wondered how their friend fared.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Legolas still hadn't woken up since he had his nightmare and it was greatly worrying Elrond.  
  
He dipped the rag in the water and placed it back on Legolas' forehead. His fever was only getting worse. The blonde elf constantly moved and groaned in his sleep. Elrond did his best to calm him down but nothing he did worked. The only thing that seemed to help a little was running the cool water over his unnaturally heated body.  
  
Legolas started mumbling louder in his sleep and moving as if trying to escape someone - or something. Elrond picked up the rag and ran it along Legolas' face, telling him comforting words in elvish.  
  
Luckily, Legoas was able to calm down and not be controled by his fevered dreams that caused him to struggle and scream, which would only cause more harm to the already suffering elf.  
  
Another hour passed, he was starting to grow anxious. He wa usually very patient but he had a bad feeling about his sons. He knew that there would be no way that they could have made it back yet but he couldn't shake off the bad feeling. He really hoped that they could return safetly.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Aragorn's head was pounding, his injury acting up again, since they had been riding for hours. Every step his horse took the worse the pain became. He could barely think.  
  
Elladan noticed that Aragorn had become a lot more quiet than he was before and it worried him. He wondered if the human had gotten himself sick. He saw that Aragorn was slumped on his horse, almost leaning against it so as not to fall.  
  
He looked over to his younger twin and gave him a worried glance. Elrohir looked slightly confused so he pointed to Aragorn.  
  
Elrohir looked over to his human brother and noted his pained look. He shrugged at his twin, not knowing what was wrong.  
  
"What is wrong, Estel?" Elladan finally asked.  
  
Aragorn had been so focused on his riding that he hadn't heard his brother's question. The horse's steps sending a sharp pain through his head. He wanted to stop but didn't want to seem weak; he also didn't want to worry his brothers, not realizing that he already was.  
  
The twins went to either side of Aragorn. Elladan called to Aragorn again, getting no response he lightly put his hand on his leg.  
  
Aragorn jumped when he felt something on his leg but calmed down when he found Elladan's hand on it.  
  
"What is wrong?" Elladan repeated his question, concern written on his face.  
  
"Do not even say it is nothing because it is obviously something." Elrohir warned Aragorn.  
  
Aragorn sighed, his brothers knew him too well. Before he could answer an arrow flew in front of him, barely missing all of them. They had all been too concerned with Aragorn's health that they hadn't noticed the orcs that had caught up to them. They were riding wargs and had been following the two elves and human for quite a while.  
  
"How could they get so close without us hearing them?" Elrohir asked rhetorically, drawing out his bow. Elladan and Aragorn followed their brothers movement, drawing their own bows.  
  
Aragorn blamed himself for the orcs ablility to get so close. 'If they weren't so worried about me we would have been prepared.'  
  
Elladan knew of Aragorn's habbit to blame himself for things that weren't his fault for he always did it whenever someone got hurt or in situations similar to this. However, he had no time to convince him otherwise since their enemies were only getting closer.  
  
They shot a couple more arrows, killing both orcs and wargs; then they got off their horses, knowing that there was no way they'd be able to run now and they didn't want them to be injured during battle. They told the horses to hide but to be ready for them incase they were needed.  
  
After the horses left they drew their swords getting ready for the unavoidable fight.  
  
'Why do we always run into trouble?' Aragorn questioned himself, not in the mood to fight, with his head still paining him and their need to hurry home.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Of course I couldn't've let them get away with no danger. I mean, how interesting would that have been? ^^;;  
  
I hope it wasn't too confusing with.... well, anything. I also hope that it didn't sound like my other fic, for those of you who are reading it. I'm trying to make it different. Remind me never to have the same thing in more fics ever again with anything, doesn't even have to be poison. Actually I might have an idea for another fic, I'm not sure though. I'm not goin' to post anything else 'til I'm done with at least one of these fics though. Yeah, well, enough of me talkin'. I hoped you enjoyed this chapt. ^_^  
  
Plz review!! I *really* appreciate it when you peoples review! I love to hear your comments! ^_^   
  
Ja ne ^_~ 


	6. In a Hurry

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the LOTR characters. ;_;  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes. I'll go through and get them later.  
  
*************************************   
  
Review Responses  
  
*~Star-Stallion - Hmmm.... we'll see....   
  
*~Enelya Aldarion - That's actually not a bad idea..... I think I might. ^^ Thx for the review and the great idea. ^_^  
  
*~galadriel evenstar - Yeah, I know, it was predictable, but I couldn't let them get away with no danger... well, I guess I could have... but what kinda fun would that have been. ^^;;;  
  
Thx to you guys that reviewed, I really like to read what you guys think and I would really appreciate it if more people could review. ^^  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Six  
  
In a Hurry  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Legolas was only getting worse as time went by. Nothing that Elrond had tried helped the poor elven archer.  
  
The elf lord was no longer able to touch Legolas for whenever he would the elf would cry out in pain. Legolas had curled up in a ball with his arms over his head once again and even though this was a bad position for the injured elf, Elrond could do nothing to move him.   
  
Elrond could feel the heat radiating from the blonde elf without having to put his hand on him and he was drenched in sweat.  
  
Elrond thought of Legolas as his own son and it hurt him to see Legolas suffering so much. It was even worse that he couldn't help him; he couldn't even ease any of his pain. Elrond prayed that his sons would soon return.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
They had been fighting for a long time now and had almost killed everyone but Aragorn was now struggling. His head was pounding before but now he thought it was about to explode. He had gained even more injuries than he had when Legolas and him were fighting the orcs that they last ran into. The ranger was finding it very hard to concentrate.  
  
Aragorn cried out in pain when a warg jumped at him and latched itself to his arm. Luckily for him the warg had bitten the arm without the sword so he brought up the sword and struck the creature, killing it instantely.  
  
He fell to his knees no longer able to support himself, the pain in his head too great; the wound he had just received not helping any. He clutched his head against the pain and fell to the ground.   
  
Aragorn tried to will himself up. He didn't know how his brothers were fairing and couldn't leave them to fight alone. They also had to kill the orcs and wargs quickly so they could return to Imladris and to Legolas.  
  
When Elrohir heard Aragorn's shout he looked over to see him fall. Thinking the worse he rushed over to him, heedless of the danger.   
  
An orc swung its sword at him; he didn't have enough time to block it. Just as he was about to get hit, he saw an arrow pierce the orc, quickly killing it.  
  
Looking to the direction the arrow had came from he saw that Elladan had his bow in hand. He looked very relieved. He quickly continued fighting, going back to his sword.  
  
"Hannon le." Elrohir whispered and continued to Aragorn.  
  
Reaching him he was glad to find that he still had a pulse. He wanted to help him but couldn't, the horses had their equipment and he didn't have time. Elrohir looked over to Elladan seeing that he was fighting off almost more enemies than he could handle. "I am sorry but I have to help him." He spoke to the unconscious human. He knew that it would turn out best if he helped Elladan fight the rest of their enemies, seeing that his brother was starting to struggle with them, the battle had been quite a long one so far. He didn't want his twin to fight alone anyway.  
  
Elrohir gestured for Elladan to come to him, hoping that it would be possible; Elladan wasn't too far from them.  
  
Elladan had somehow managed to see the sign and was also able to get to his brothers without any pain.  
  
They both stood guard over their fallen brother. "How is he?" Elladan asked his twin, while blocking an attack.  
  
"He will live."  
  
"I have no doubt of that." The older twin had looked at Aragorn before engaging in the battle once more.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Legolas, who had been holding back his cries of pain before, was no longer able to. Every time Elrond heard the younger elf it tore at his heart. The worse part was he still couldn't do anything to ease his pain. Legolas' breathing, which had already been bad enough, was only getting worse.  
  
The elf lord, who did have some hope before his sons set out, was quickly losing what was left. 'Please spare him.' He silently prayed.   
  
He picked up the rag from the water and gently ran it across Legolas' forehead. To his surprise the elven archer didn't scream in pain but actually seemed to calm down a bit, which was a great relief. He was still worried though, the elf's breathing was getting too shallow; his fever was rising even more, if possible.  
  
"Hold on Legolas, just a while longer, please." The elf practically begged the ailing elf.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Elrohir thrusted his blade into the enemies' chest, twisted it and then pulled it out. The last orc fell.  
  
Elladan also killed his opponent, this one being the last warg. They were finally done with the battle gaining no life threatening injuries, which could have been a first.  
  
They quickly dropped their weapons and turned to Aragorn. They crouched down and looked him over. His only major injury was the bite extending from his shoulder to his elbow. It was pretty deep and was bleeding quite a bit. They needed to treat him quickly because of the possibility of infection, not to mention all the blood loss.  
  
Elladan had been too absorbed in checking Aragorn's injuries that he hadn't noticed Elrohir calling for their horses. He hadn't even noticed his twin until he handed him the bag with the herbs and bandages. Elladan smiled gratefully up at his younger twin and got to work on Aragorn.  
  
When he was done he was relieved to find no serious injuries. The bite was even better than they had first thought, once rid of the blood that had been surrounding it.  
  
"We must move." Elrohir told him once he noticed that Elladan had finished, of course he had helped out though.  
  
Elladan had almost forgotten that they were in such a hurry while treating Aragorn's injuries. He then nodded but asked, "What of your injuries?"   
  
"They are of no importance; we must hurry." He brushed off the question and picked up Aragorn.  
  
"Let him ride with me." Elladan said. When he saw the look on his brother's face of disagreement he said, "I have more skills with healing so it would be best, incase something happens."   
  
Elrohir didn't argue, knowing it to be true. Elladan was better at healing, just as he was better at fighting.  
  
The younger sibling brought Aragorn over to his twin, who had gotten on his horse and then he carefully handed Aragorn over to him. When he was sure Elladan had a good hold on him he went over to his own horse and gracefully got on.   
  
He brought his horse over to Elladan. "I will grab the pouch with the arrow and ride ahead. We should not waste any time." He should have thought of the idea before they had gotten Aragorn on the horse, now it would be harder to take it.  
  
They both stopped. Elrohir first looked to see where it was and was relieved to find it in an easy spot to reach. He carefully untied it from Aragorn's belt; then he said a good bye to Elladan and sped off to Imladris.  
  
Elladan also said something but it wasn't a good bye, it was a good luck. 'I hope he will get there on time.' he shook his head. 'Of course he will!' He corrected himself, angry at himself for even thinking that Elrohir wouldn't be able to.  
  
The older twin started his horse at a walking pace. He didn't want it to go too fast, it could hurt Aragorn more or even wake him up, both possibilities being bad.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
About a couple hours later none of his sons had returned; it greatly worried the elf lord. He still had a feeling something had happened to them and as the hours went by it only made him feel worse. 'They should have made it back by now.'  
  
Elrond paced back and forth near Legolas' bed. He looked over when he heard another cry of agony from the poor elf. Even though there had been a lot of screams from him, he still wasn't used to it and probably never would be. 'He should not have to suffer so.'  
  
The elder elf had looked over at Legolas when he heard another scream and was surprised to see that Legolas' eyes were actually open. They had been closed for hours, very few times had they opened since his sons left.   
  
The smile on Elrond's face soon turned into a frown when he saw that Legolas's eyes showed pain and the need to escape it.   
  
He sat back down on the chair by Legolas. "I am sorry but I cannot help you at the moment." He let out a long sigh. "I will be able to soon." He didn't let his doubt show through his voice. He knew that Legolas needed all the hope he could get. At the time he didn't look like he was the least bit hopeful.  
  
To Elrond's dismay, Legolas just closed his eyes. He didn't say anything or even nod; his breath coming out in quick gasps.  
  
Then he heard something; it sounded like someone was shouting for him.   
  
He jumped from the chair realizing that it was one of his sons. He didn't want to leave Legolas but didn't have much of a choice, he needed to hurry so he could get the arrow and make the antidote.  
  
After some hesitation he ran to the shouting.  
  
Elrond frowned. Only one of his sons had returned. "Where are Estel and Elladan?"  
  
"They will be back shortly." Elrohir replied while jumping off his horse and handing the pouch over to Elrond. "We ran into orcs; Estel is hurt but will live. How is Legolas?" He hoped that the blonde elf faired better than he thought. He had a bad feeling about Legolas for quite some time now.  
  
"He is in great pain. I must hurry." Elrong answered while giong to his study.  
  
Elrohir went to the healing rooms; to Legolas. He had to see how he was doing himself.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
How was it? I hope it was alright. I think that the next chapt for this may be out this weekend... not sure though.   
  
Plz Review!!   
  
Ja ne ^_~ 


	7. Good to Laugh Again

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own them... unfortunately.   
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.   
  
I went through and got all the mistakes that I could find. I think I got them all.. or at least most. And thank you Jadesaber for pointing that out. I knew I was going to do that... shrugs ...it's fixed now. It's not cool though, I can't do the faces anymore, with the underscore and whatever sighs ...oh well.

* * *

_Review Responses  
_  
**nicole westerhouse** - Thx! Welcome to the story.   
  
**Celebrean** - Here ya go! Yeah, ya gotta love school. ...not!  
  
**Star-Stallion** - Yeah, the poor elf.....  
  
**Enelya Aldarion** - lol... indeed, it does. It is done a lot, but it never gets old.   
  
**galadriel evenstar** - Doesn't it? I thought it did. 

Thx for the reviews; plz keep them coming!

* * *

**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
Good to Laugh Again**

* * *

Elrohir heard Legolas scream from down the hall. He started to run towards the room, even more worried for the elf's health. He didn't know that Legolas had been constantly screaming from agony before he arrived so he wasn't expecting it.  
  
Elrohir quickly opened the door when he got to the room. He paused and didn't see anyone threatening Legolas' life so assumed it was a nightmare. He went to the side of Legolas' bed and touched his arm, thinking it might wake him up.  
  
The blonde elf only screamed again. He quickly withdrew his hand. It scared him to think that his touch had hurt his friend so he didn't think of that being the cause.  
  
The dark-haired elf looked up and saw that Legolas' eyes were open. His eyes were glazed over with a mixture of fever and pain.  
  
"I'm sorry for waking you but you were having a nightmare." That was what Elrohir thought anyway.  
  
"I--" He was cut off by a coughing fit. The coughs being harsh, racking his whole body.  
  
Elrohir went to get some water, which was close to him and helped Legolas drink it when his coughs subsided.  
  
"Hannon le." Legolas said gratefully, his voice hoarse and his exhaustion showing through.  
  
"Of course." He paused, remembering that Legolas was about to say something before the coughing fit so he asked him what he was saying.  
  
Legolas had to think for a while, trying to think through his fever induced mind. "Oh... I was not sleeping before." He finally said showing how tired he was with his voice, but trying to prevent it. Elrohir could also tell that he was in pain as well.  
  
Elrohir frowned trying to remember what they had been talking about before or what he was doing. Then he remembered. 'Why did he scream when I touched him if he wasn't asleep, then?'  
  
Legolas let out a shrill scream, this time the pain had been the worst by far. He had meant to surpress it but wasn't able to.  
  
"Legolas! What's wrong?!" Elrohir was scared. He'd never heard anyone scream like that, much less Legolas.  
  
The ailing elf was unable to answer. He was panting heavily and trying to control his breathing. He let out another gasp of pain.  
  
It was then that Elrohir figured out why Legolas had been screaming when he was on his way to the healing rooms and why he'd screamed when he'd touched him. It was because he couldn't hold them back like he usually did, the pain being too great for his exhausted body.  
  
The dark-haired elf sat on the chair and stared sadly at the elf before him. 'Hurry ada.' He didn't know how much longer Legolas would be able to last. He feared it wouldn't be that long, though it pained him to admit it.

* * *

Elladan felt Aragorn shift in his arms showing that he was regaining consciousness. He decided to stop for a short time so Aragorn wouldn't do anything he would regret, like somehow falling off the horse.  
  
The elf found a clearing not to far away and got to it before the human in his arms awoke.  
  
He somehow managed to get off his horse without further injury to Aragorn or to himself.  
  
Elladan carefully layed Aragorn on the ground and started to make a fire. He thought that his brother would need something to ease his pain when he was fully awake.  
  
He heard a moan from Aragorn showing that he was finally awake. He brought the tea over to him and waited for him to take in his surroundings.  
  
Aragorn was finally able to open his eyes. He looked around and the first thing he noticed was that Elorhir wasn't with them. He quickly sat up remembering that they had last been in a battle.  
  
His head swam and he would have fallen back on the ground if Elladan hadn't caught him.  
  
Once the nauseous feeling left him he looked up at Elladan and asked him what had happened.  
  
"During the battle you fell unconscious. Both Elorhir and I killed the rest of the enemies." At Elrohir's name Aragorn looked worried. "Elorhir is fine. He rode up ahead with the pouch to Legolas."   
  
Aragorn visibly relaxed but then winced and brought his hand to his head.  
  
"Is your head still bothering you?" The elf asked concerned.  
  
Aragorn nodded and instantely regretted it. The movement having caused more pain.  
  
"Here." Elladan said to get Aragorn's attention. He handed the tea to him.   
  
Aragorn gratefully took it, knowing it would ease the throbbing in his head and arm. When he had brought his hand up to his head before and when he had just brought the tea to his lips he noticed that his arm seemed stiff. He looked down at it and saw that it was bandaged from his shoulder to his elbow.  
  
"Wargs." He groaned remembering exactly how he had fallen unconscious.  
  
Elladan chuckled slightly at Aragorn. Then he turned serious. "They are still waiting for us."  
  
Aragorn nodded, knowing who he was talking about and slowly stood up, not wanting a repeat of what happened last time he sat up.  
  
Elladan saw his brother sway when he stood up so he went to his side, ready to catch him if he should fall.  
  
Aragorn leaned on Elladan when the dizziness became too much for him. He was grateful for his support and whispered a thank you once he was able to.  
  
When the dizziness left him he straightened himself and started toward the horse. He jumped on first, knowing that Elladan wouldn't let him command the horse in his condition; he didn't feel like arguing either.  
  
Elladan quickly cleaned up the camp, leaving to trace of them. Then he got on the horse behind Aragorn. He was really worried about him, normally Aragorn would help with picking up camp, not wanting to leave the work up to someone else, even if there wasn't much to clean. Aragorn also got on the horse first letting Elladan give the commands to the horse without a fight. He didn't insist that he was alright either.  
  
Elladan sighed and started his horse at a slow pace again.

* * *

Elrond was frustrated. He couldn't find the antidote. No matter what he tried. He knew that time was running out for Legolas too. He quickly got back to work, not willing to give up.  
  
Not too far from Elrond's study Elrohir was watching over Legolas. The elf in front of him rarely moved now and no longer made much noise. It frightened him to see the usually so energetic elf just lying there not doing anything.  
  
Elrohir grabbed Legolas' hand, hoping to reassure not only Legolas but himself as well. He almost jumped in surprise when he felt the ailing elf weakly squeeze his hand. It gave Elorhir more hope, which almost everyone was lacking at the moment.  
  
Elrohir had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that someone else was in the room with him until they put their hand on his shoulder.   
  
This time the dark-haired elf couldn't help but jump in surprise. He looked up to see Aragorn smiling at him. He could tell that the human was exhausted, he was practically leaning on Elladan, who was next to him, so as not to fall.  
  
Elrohir got up and hugged his brothers glad to see that they came back in one piece.  
  
"He is not doing so well, is he?" Aragorn asked looking at Legolas' still form, after thier hug had broken apart.  
  
"I am afraid not." Elrohir said regretfully. He wished he could say the opposite and it were true but alas it was not. "I got here as fast as I could but I know not if it was fast enough."  
  
"You did your best." Elladan comforted his twin. Then he turned to Aragorn, who was now leaning on him heavily. "And you need to lie down." His voice leaving no room for arguement.   
  
Aragorn knew that tone all too well but didn't have the strength to argue back even if the tone hadn't been there.  
  
Elladan lead the exhausted human to another bed and gently helped him lay down.  
  
Aragorn struggled to keep his eyes open, not wanting to sleep yet, knowing that his friend's life was in grave danger and wanting to help him as much as possible. However, he soon lost the battle and fell asleep.  
  
Elrohir took the chair next to Legolas while Elladan treated Aragorn's wounds.   
  
The older twin sighed. "Why must we always run into trouble?"  
  
Elrohir snorted. "I doubt we will ever be able to answer that."  
  
They laughed, knowing that to be all too true. It felt good to laugh, especially after going so long without it.

* * *

They changed the ish (...don't ask...) for uploading so I hope it actually looks alright.   
  
Well, this chapt was more mellow than the rest have been, I still hope it was good. Let me know plz!! It took longer than I originally thought it would to post this chapt cuz.... yeah. It just took longer. Anywayz.... I'll get the next chapt out soon. I don't have any of it written quite yet but I will start it soon. I promise!   
  
Review!! It helps me write!! (grins) Can't do the asterisks either.... grrrrr...  
  
Ja ne 


	8. Lost Hope

**Disclaimer**: _sniff sniff_... I don't own Legolas... Aragorn or any of the characters.  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes. As always I'll go through and fix it.

* * *

_Review Responses  
_  
**Enelya Aldarion** - Hmmm... well, we'll see about that. ;;  
  
**Star-Stallion** - Pretty much the same as above. _shifts eyes  
_  
**maria** - I'm hurryin'. I'm hurryin'.  
  
**Jadesaber** - Once again thx for pointing that out for me. I knew that I was goin' to do that at least once and... I did. _sighs_ ...oh well.  
  
**RenegadeKitsune** - I'm glad it made your day! Thx for your comments and it's too bad we haven't really gotten to talk.... except for that one time....  
  
Btw, if anyone wants to IM me or anything... that's cool. I'll chat with anyone. Thx for the reviews; plz keep them coming!

* * *

**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
Lost Hope**

* * *

Elladan had been sitting by Aragorn's side, while Elrohir was staying by Legolas'. Neither had woken up nor showed any signs of doing so. It had been hours since Aragorn had fallen asleep. They both knew that Aragorn would heal without a doubt but they weren't so sure about Legolas. And the more time that went by the more worried they became. The last movement that had come from the ailing elf was when he had squeezed Elrohir's hand, a very small move but it still gave them some hope.  
  
Both Elrohir and Elladan hadn't gotten any sleep and were weary; they wanted to sleep but wouldn't. They had to keep an eye on Aragorn and especially Legolas, just in case.  
  
The twins turned to the door when they heard footsteps approaching and were slightly relieved to see their father open the door carrying something that looked like it could be for Legolas.  
  
Elrohir opened his mouth to say something but was stopped when Elrond rose his hand. "Before you say anything, I want you to know that I know not if this will work." The elf-lord went to Legolas. "But this is the closest thing to an anidote I have yet to find."  
  
The twins nodded, trusting their father's judgement completely.  
  
Elrond placed what he thought was the cure onto the table by the bed and carefully shook Legolas, trying to wake him. Getting no response he started to call his name while shaking harder.  
  
Legolas still made no movements.  
  
"How long has he been like this?" Elrond asked scared that it might be too late for an antidote.  
  
Elorhir thought, he had been with him the longest so would know. "Slightly before Estel and Elladan returned." The younger twin didn't like the look on his father's face. "Why? What's wrong?"  
  
_It may be too late now._ Elrond thought with regret. He didn't answer his son and continued to try and wake Legolas.   
  
Seeing his father turn back to Legolas, Elorhir turned to Elladan, hoping that somehow he'd know.  
  
Elladan merely shrugged also not knowing what had happened. He had an idea from the look on Elrond's face, but didn't even want to think about it, let alone speak it aloud.

* * *

Aragorn heard muffled sounds as the world slowly came back into focus. He still had the headache, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it was before. He ignored it and the aching in his arm, more concerned about trying to understand the hurried shouts from the person in the room with him.  
  
Once he was more aware he found out what the shouts were saying: "Legolas." "Legolas." Over and over again. _Legolas._ His worn out mind tried to contemplate why they'd be yelling for the prince in his room. Wouldn't they go to the guestroom for him?  
  
Then he remembered the battle and everything else up to the point of returning home.  
  
"Legolas!" The voice sounded much more urgent.  
  
Aragorn's eyes snapped open. He had just remembered how dire Legolas' situation had been when he had returned. Now they were shouting his name over and over.  
  
Thinking the worst had happened Aragorn quickly swung his legs over the bed and got to his feet, but they were unable to support him. He fell to the ground noisly, and brought the blanket down with him. The blanket caught on something making it clang loudly on the floor.  
  
All three elves quickly turned their attention to the direction of the noise. Since they were so focused on Legolas none of them had noticed Aragorn when he had sat up or even opened his eyes for that matter.  
  
"Estel! What are you doing?" Elladan asked surprised. Being closest to the human he helped him up and made him sit on the bed. Aragorn was too stubborn to be convinced to lay back down, especially since he needed to know what was going on with Legolas.  
  
"Legolas." Aragorn paused, trying to catch his breath. The whole room was tilting dangerously. He swallowed hard and tried to continue. "What.... is wrong....?" He didn't even try to finish the sentence, knowing that his family understood what his question was.  
  
"Ada found a possible cure," Aragorn's eyes lit up but upon seeing Elladan's face they dimmed, "but we cannot wake Legolas for him to drink it."  
  
Aragorn looked crestfallen. Elrond had finally found a possible antidote and they couldn't even try it. _There has to be a way to wake him._ Estel thought determined to find a way.  
  
Aragorn tried to get up so he could go to Legolas' side. He had to at least try and help Elrond wake him. However, Elladan's hands stopped him once again.  
  
"Elladan, let me go. I have to see if there is anything I can do." Aragorn pleaded with his older brother.  
  
Elladan looked at Aragorn's eyes, seeing how much he needed to try and help Elrond as best as he could, even if it was in vain. Behind him he could still hear the ever-growing frantic calls of Legolas' name and other words trying to wake the ailing elf.  
  
Elladan sighed, knowing he should at least let Estel try. What could he lose? Estel was one of Legolas' closest friends anyway so it would be better for him to try. He knew the prince the best also.  
  
Seeing that his brother was releasing his grip, Aragorn got up and began to walk to Legolas' bed. No one stopped him but Elrohir did get up from his chair so Aragorn could sit in it. Aragorn gratefully took the seat and helped Elrond wake the unconscious elf.

* * *

It had been hours later since they had first tried to rouse the ailing elf. They had only gotten slight movements from Legolas, like him twitching; sometimes he'd moan. However, they saw no signs of him waking.  
  
They had all been running out of hope, including Estel.  
  
Lord Elrond had someone get them some chairs so they could all sit, instead of standing on already weary feet.  
  
All of them but Elrond, had fallen asleep after getting no signs for hours. They hadn't gone to sleep on purpose, of course, it was just the strain of the events finally catching up to them.  
  
Aragorn had been one of the last to fall asleep, holding Legolas' hand in hope for the contact bringing the elf back to them somehow. Even though he was the most tired out of all of them, he stayed up the longest wanting to help his friend.   
  
Elrond had actually gone back to his study looking for something that could wake Legolas up. It was really more of a way to keep his mind off the terrible thought that Legolas would never be able to wake and would soon die if he didn't.  
  
Elorhir and Elladan both fell asleep on the chairs they had been sitting on, they were leaning on the bed where Legolas was still, unfortunately, asleep.

* * *

Legolas was confused. Last thing he remembered he was sitting with Elrohir next to him; reassuring him. But now all he saw was pitch black and he heard no sounds. He began to panic, feeling trapped. He wanted to know what was going on and wanted to feel the reassurance of his friends again. He knew that he had been dying before.....  
  
_Am I dead?_ The sudden thought scared him. He hadn't expected death to be like this. He thought it would be peaceful; nothing like this: feeling trapped, alone; with no hope.  
  
Apparently, he had been standing because he fell to his knees in dispair and wrapped his arms around himself, wanting to cry but his warrior-pride would allow nothing of the sort.  
  
Legolas suddenly felt a shift in the air as if some hope had gotten through the dispair. He quickly stood up and tried to find the source, wanting a good feeling back; not caring where it lead him, for better or for worse, he did not know nor care.

* * *

Hmmm... I hope that was alright. Sry if the last part was kinda weird... I dunno what was up with that.....   
  
I'm surprised I was even able to update today... for some reason volleyball is starting to have some meetings and ish like that. ...good and bad.. actually more good than bad. _grins_ Volleyball's so much fun. Anywayz, I'm off the topic.  
  
Well, **Plz review!!!  
**  
Ja ne 


	9. Promise

**Disclaimer**: I don't own LOTR.  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.

Also sry if I missed anything when I went back through, my eyes were all blurry so it was harder to tell.

* * *

_Review Responses_  
  
**Star-Stallion** - I hope he'll be okay too.... -=grins=- Yeah, go volleyball! : ) Grrr... I hate it how you can't use the faces.... sry.  
  
**Enelya Aldarion** - Yeah, they pretty much are but some stories to turn out better the other way..... hehe. thx for the luck, btw and it didn't turn out too bad considering they can't coach us yet.  
  
**Gozilla** - Thx!   
  
**galadriel evenstar** - That sucks! Takin' it, it's gone? (if that made any sense) I would do some but, ya know, I have no idea how I could. Give me some ideas and I'll think about it.  
  
Four.... -=shrugs=- at least I'm gettin' some. Fourty-one is actually a lot more than I thought I'd ever get. Thx for the reviews; plz keep them coming!

* * *

**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
Promise**

* * *

Aragorn almost jumped out of his skin when he felt something squeeze his hand. Wait a minute! He was still holding Legolas' hand!  
  
The ranger, who had been bordering sleep and wakefulness, quickly awoke and looked over to Legolas' face. He frowned seeing that he still wasn't showing signs of waking. _Must have been my imagination. _Aragorn decided sadly.  
  
Then he felt another weak squeeze; Legolas' eyes were fluttering as well! _He must be waking!_ Estel thought excitedly. He couldn't help but be hopeful, he was Estel after all and the elf was showing signs of waking.  
  
Legolas' eyes slowly opened. He looked around the room seeing no more blackness and felt no more despair; the smell of herbs filling the room, calming him.  
  
Legolas felt a presence nearby and slowly turned to see who it was.  
  
"Legolas?" Aragorn asked when unfocused eyes looked at him.  
  
The blonde elf's mind finally registered whose voice it was and his eyes finally focused; he noticed it was Aragorn next to him. "Estel?" He croaked out.  
  
The voice was barely a whisper and was hoarse but it still woke Elladan from his elven dreams. He immediately looked over to Legolas and saw that his eyes were finally open. "Legolas!" He absentmindedly shouted, causing the ailing elf to wince.  
  
Elrohir woke from his twin's shout and upon seeing Legolas awake he jumped up. "I shall go get ada."  
  
The others had been too excited to get Lord Elrond when they knew that that would be the best thing for him.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Aragorn turned from his brother who was running excitedly to his father's study.  
  
"Better now." And that was true. During his sleep he got no rest. Feeling trapped, all alone with no hope. He was beyond happy to get out of it, though he now had to deal with the pain from the poison. The blonde elf noticed that he had nightclothes on instead of what he was wearing during the incident with the orcs not too long ago.  
  
"We had to get you out of your other clothes to treat your injuries." Elrohir stated after seeing Legolas' confused stare at his new clothes.  
  
Legolas just nodded and held back a wince. He had been unconscious for a long time but had gotten barely, if any rest at all and was exhausted. He started to close his eyes when he was shaken.  
  
"You must stay awake." Aragorn commanded softly, with concern etched in his voice. "Ada has found a possible cure."  
  
The archer's eyes opened wide. _Why did you not tell me before? _He wanted to ask but felt too tired to do so. He settled for a glare.  
  
No one could say anything else before Elrond burst into the room with Elladan close to his heels.  
  
Elrond, who was carrying the container of antidote, had wasted no time in getting to Legolas. "Before I give this to you, you must know that I do not know how your body will respond to it or how much pain you may have to endure." He really didn't want to waste time asking this type of question, knowing what Legolas' response would be but it was his life after all.  
  
"Iston." The blonde archer replied, completely understanding Elrond's concerns. He trusted the lord's judgement and if he was willing to put Legolas' life in danger then there was a high chance that he would survive, even if it didn't work.  
  
Elrond nodded. He then helped Legolas sit up and helped him slowly drink the possible cure.  
  
It took no time for the antidote to show a sign of doing something, however, whether it was good or bad wasn't quite as clear. Legolas was screaming again. This time his sore throat not stopping him from doing so.  
  
The others could only watch in horror, not being able to help him. It was even worse when Legolas started to struggle with some invisible force.  
  
Fortunately, he finally stopped screaming and went limp. They weren't sure if it was because the antidote had finally worked or if the elf's body could no longer handle the painful movements.  
  
Elrond placed his hand on Legolas' forehead and found that his fever hadn't gone down at all, if anything it went up. He quickly checked the poisoned injury and frowned. It was still swollen and had an even darker tinge to it. _I think it just caused him more pain._ He felt horrible for causing so much pain to the injured elf. He was in enough pain as it was. "I am sorry." He whispered to Legolas, who was breathing heavily; barely conscious. Elrond was mad at himself for putting Legolas through so much pain and for nothing. _I will have to continue searching for the cure._  
  
Lord Elrond left without saying a word to anyone else.  
  
The others knew not to question Elrond by the look on his face. They also knew he was trying to hide it but by him saying nothing told them everything they needed to know: the antidote hadn't worked.  
  
"I will see if I can help ada." Elrohir said wanting to not only help Legolas but make sure his father didn't blame himself for hurting Legolas. Sure, he had given him the drink but he wasn't aware of the reactions that Legolas could have, like he had told everyone, including Legolas himself.  
  
Elladan turned back to Legolas, seeing him still conscious, which was a good thing since they weren't sure if he'd even be able to wake again or if he did how long it would take. It didn't seem like the ailing elf was too aware of his surroundings though.  
  
Aragorn had gone to get some water and a cloth for Legolas. Once he got them he sat down in the chair by Legolas and dipped the cloth in the water; then placed it on his head.   
  
_This is all my fault._ Aragorn blamed himself. He thought that since he came up with the idea of going on the hunting trip it was all his fault. The ranger also blamed himself because he couldn't get to Legolas in time to help him; he also hadn't been able to warn him on time.  
  
"It is not your fault, Estel." Elladan said upon seeing Aragorn's depressed look. Elladan knew that Aragorn had the tendency to blame himself for things he couldn't prevent, even if he knew he couldn't.  
  
Aragorn didn't respond; just kept wiping Legolas' forehead, hoping everything would turn out alright. _Of course it will! _He thought determinedly.

* * *

Elrohir had just reached his father's study and hesitated. Elrond was sure to argue against him being there. He liked to be alone when he worked, with no distractions. Only a couple times did he allow his sons to help. Even then it was only because Elrond was running out of ideas on how to help and had a lot of people to treat at once. They had also been allowed in when they were younger to learn what to do in certain situations with healing. The teachings had been a long time ago since they had learned almost everything that their father could teach.  
  
Elrohir took a deep breath, preparing to argue with Lord Elrond and then he walked in.  
  
Once inside he didn't say anything seeing that his father was stooping over the counter working. Only when Elrond would talk to him would he say anything. He didn't want to make his father lose his train of thought. He knew that the elder elf was aware of his presence, even though he didn't show it.  
  
With a frustrated sigh Elrond finally turned to face the younger twin. "Did something happen to Legolas?" He asked worried, though he knew that nothing did since Elorhir hadn't rushed in, but patiently waited for him to finish. Only for him to come up empty handed again.  
  
"Nay, I merely came to help you."  
  
"Legolas needs more help than I."  
  
"He shall not recover without an antidote."  
  
Elrond surprised Elrohir when he sighed and said, "Very well, you may help." And turned back to his work.  
  
At first the younger elf just stood there shocked. He couldn't believe his father had given up so easily. _This is not good._ Elrohir didn't question how long they had left to find the cure because he feared the answer.  
  
Elrohir regained his senses and started to look for the cure beside his father.

* * *

Legolas was still on the verge of sleep not wanting to succumb to the urge again since the others told him how long it took for him to wake up last time and that they couldn't do anything to help. Legolas had given the human and elf a questioning look when they shook him when he was about to fall asleep so they told them about their trouble of waking him. They all feared he'd never wake up again. He was so tired though, the unconscious state before giving him no rest.  
  
The blonde archer also didn't want to return to the void he had been stuck in. He was just glad to know that it hadn't been permanent but he didn't know if he would return there again during sleep and have to stay there; he preferred not to risk it.  
  
The soothing motions that Aragorn was making by running the cloth over him was making him all the more tired, it did help him relax his mind though, which was a very good thing. He didn't think about the pain so much when he felt the cool cloth on his hot skin and Aragorn's presence nearby.  
  
Aragorn watched as Legolas' eyes slowly closed but didn't shake him knowing that he did need rest. It worried him though, thinking that they'd never open again, but he held onto hope and knew that they would. The ranger was glad that he was able to give the ailing elf some comfort. He could tell by how the elf was behaving that the cloth had some affect on him. Legolas' breathing was still heavy and shallow but he no longer gasped or sometimes even cried out in pain while the cloth was running over his skin.  
  
Elladan smiled as he watched Aragorn. Everyone cared for the young elf so much; it seemed like Aragorn cared a lot more though. He'd always make sure he could help the blonde elf with anything that he needed, whether it was big or small and Legolas would always do the same for him. They would both always accept each others help. They never turned down an opportunity to do something together, like a hunting trip or even little things anywhere, unless they had to do different things at the same time.   
  
Elladan thought... no, knew that Legolas was in very good hands so he got up and went to the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" Aragorn asked curious.  
  
"I am going to get some food. Both of us need it, especially you. You have been under a lot of stress and have not eaten in days I imagine."  
  
What he said was true, Aragorn had to admit, but he still replied, "I am not hungry."   
  
Instead of sitting back down or arguing Elladan just shrugged and left, still to get some food for both of them. _I should bring some to Elorhir and ada as well.   
_  
Aragorn turned his attention back to the blonde elf in front of him. "You will get better, I promise." That was a promise he had every intention of keeping.

* * *

Well, how was that? Hopefully good. I dunno if I really liked that one as much as the others but.... oh well. I ended up updating this one again, which is a good thing for you peoples but not for the people readin' NAS. I'll have to update that one this weekend... I'll work on it, I promise. -=smiles=- I really don't like it how I can't make the faces anymore. Well... hmmmm... I guess that's it.  
  
Holiday weekend! Yippee! Monday off! Sleepy time! -=shifts eyes=-  
  
**Plz review!!!!**  
  
Ja ne 


	10. Tears

**Disclaimer**: Yup, I own Legolas, and Aragorn and.... What? I don't? -=pouts=- Fine, I don't own anything. I do own the DVDs though.  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes. As always I'll go through and fix it.  
  
See, I told you I would post this tonight. (For people reading both NAS and this fic) -=grins=-

* * *

_Review Responses_  
  
**Star-Stallion** - Hehehe... ya gotta love that. Thx for the review... I thought it was funny, especially the first time I read it. I laughed after reading it and my brother looked at my weirdly cuz I just started laughin' out of no where. -=smiles=-  
  
**Enelya Aldarion** - Thx and of course Legolas gets tortured. I mean, who wouldn't want to torture him. -=grins evily=- Just playin'.  
  
**Jadesaber** - I certainly hope so too....  
  
**galadriel evenstar** - Guess we'll just have to see about that.  
  
**Deana** - I'm so happy that you've actually read _and_ reviewed my fic. I love your stories so much and it means a lot that you like mine... I hope so at least. : )  
  
Thx once again for all the review and plz keep them comin'.

* * *

**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
Tears**

* * *

Elladan had a couple food trays in his hands, one for Elrond and Elrohir to share and the other was for Aragorn and himself; possibly Legolas if they could get him to eat something.  
  
The dark-haired elf had just reached his father's study and had to struggle to open the door. He finally opened it and saw the two elves within concentrating only on their work. He really didn't want to distrupt them but knew that they needed to eat or they'd be too exhausted to think about anything.  
  
Once he was sure they were aware of his presence he said, "I brought a tray of food for both of you. Please make sure you eat." He didn't bother to ask how they had come along, he could tell by the look on their tired faces that they hadn't gotten anywhere.  
  
Lord Elrond and Elrohir could hear the concern in Elladan's voice so quickly agreed they'd eat some.  
  
"I am not going to leave until both of you eat at least ten bites." The older twin stated stubbornly. He knew they'd just agree to eat but never end up really doing so. He thought this was the only way they'd really eat.  
  
The two elves hesitated.  
  
"The longer you take the more dangerous Legolas' situation becomes." He hated to use that against them but it was true and probably the only way.  
  
Elrond and Elrohir exchanged a glance and quickly turned to the tray of food. They ate as fast as they could without choking on it.  
  
Elladan smirked. _I knew that would work._ He saw that they were actually eating more than the minimum he had told them so he decided to leave. He had to get Aragorn to eat now, which would be a more difficult task.

* * *

Elladan entered the room quietly, not sure if Legolas was actually asleep or not. He didn't want to be loud even if he was awake. The blonde elf was more sensative to loud noises; they caused him a lot of pain.  
  
The dark-haired elf saw Aragorn sitting in the same spot that he was when he'd left to get the food. He was no longer running the cloth over Legolas' body though. "Is he asleep?"  
  
"Nay," Aragorn answered sadly, "I do not know if it is because of what we told him or if he is just not able to sleep."  
  
Legolas did have his eyes closed but you could tell by looking at him that he wasn't sleeping.  
  
"I brought you some food."  
  
"I told you I was not hungry."  
  
"Iston, but please eat something. You need to." _Am I the only one thinking clearly?_ He thought. _Everyone needs food to function properly and no one seems to want to eat.  
_  
Aragorn sighed and grabbed a piece of bread from the tray. _At least it is something._ Elladan thought dryly.  
  
Elladan started calling Legolas' name and shaking him slightly to get his attention.  
  
"What are you doing?" Aragorn asked somewhat angrily. He didn't want anyone bothering the ailing elf for no reason.  
  
"I am going to see if I can get him to eat." Elladan thought his younger brother was being overprotective. Did he really think that his brother would do something to Legolas, who was in agony, for no reason?  
  
Legolas' eyes opened half-way. He looked like he needed a lot of rest. "Can you try to eat something?" Elladan asked uncertainly. "You really need to."  
  
Legolas formed a "no" with his mouth since he couldn't speak or shake his head being too tired and the shaking would only add to his pain.  
  
"You need to eat something, mellon nin." Aragorn stated sadly. He hated seeing Legolas like this: so weak and helpless.  
  
The blonde elf thought for a while and them slightly nodded, not think and causing some pain. He only agreed to try and eat because his friends were so concerned about him. He hated causing his friends to worry.  
  
Elladan picked up the broth that he had brought for Legolas and had Aragorn help the blonde elf sit up. Then he started to feed Legolas slowly, not wanting him to choke. Legolas cursed his weakness. It was greatly hurting his pride by being fed to.  
  
There was still more than half left when Legolas couldn't eat anymore. After they had fed Legolas they ate their own food.  
  
The blonde archer suddenly started moving towards the end of the bed, sticking his head over the edge.  
  
Aragorn knew what was going to happen and quickly grabbed an empty bowl set aside for this purpose. He got to Legolas just in time. The elf violently threw up.  
  
Elladan went over to them and held Legolas' once richly golden hair out of his face and rubbed his back in soothing motions.  
  
Once Legolas was done he didn't have any strength left to put himself back into the laying position he had been in so nearly fell off the bed from where he was leaning over. Elladan quickly caught him and laid him back down. Legolas whimpered in pain.  
  
Seeing that his friend hadn't fallen on the floor he rinsed the bowl out with some water. When he was done he placed the bowl next to Legolas' bed again, just in case. His headache was coming back full force, all his worrying causing it.  
  
"I am sorry, Legolas." Elladan said sadly, regretting his decision in making Legolas eat. "I should not have given you the food."  
  
The younger elf would have told Elladan it wasn't his fault but he was distracted by the pain coarsing throughout his body. He did try though, however, it came out as a whimper.  
  
Both human and elf blamed themself for causing Legolas more pain and in a sense it was their fault. The only reason Legolas had agreed to eat was because of their concern, so neither of them told each other not to blame himself.  
  
Aragorn subconsciously rubbed his head. The throbbing growing only worse.  
  
Elladan saw this and frowned. "Sit down." He didn't bother with asking him to sit down, so just told him. He really didn't feel like arguing either.  
  
Aragorn did sit down, also not wanting to argue. He laid his head on Legolas' bed. "I am so sorry I cannot help you."  
  
They didn't want to give Legolas herbs fearing a repeat of what had just happened; then he'd just be in more agony. Legolas' eyes were once again closed. His breathing shallow and every once in a while he'd gasp in pain. Sweat covered his forehead and chest.  
  
Elladan had gotten some herbs for Aragorn and held them out for him to take. He didn't take them though. "Aragorn, drink this, it will help. Stop being so stubborn." The dark-haired elf used his human name to show his seriousness, he wasn't in the mood to deal with this.  
  
Aragorn looked straight into his brother's eyes. "He is suffering so much. I should not be allowed to have relief from my pain when Legolas cannot get any and it is my fault."  
  
Elladan was shocked at his statement. The sound of his voice was of utter distress and his eyes were brimming with unfallen tears. The last time he saw Aragorn even close to tears was when he was young, about seven years old. The elf hugged the human comfortingly. "Fear not, he shall live. We will all make sure of it. You know as well as I do."  
  
Aragorn accepted the hug and returned it. He only nodded at what Elladan had said. He knew it to be true but he coudln't help himself, his best friend was in agony and was dying and there was nothing he could do about it. However, he held back his tears, not wanting to cry. He told himself he wouldn't cry long ago when he decided it was a sign of weakness to do so since he never saw his family cry.  
  
"It is okay to cry, Estel." Elladan could tell his brother was desperately trying to hold the tears back.  
  
Aragorn was still facing Legolas; he saw him tense and whimper in pain again. Upon hearing Elladan and then seeing his friend he could no longer hold his tears and let them fall silently while clutching Elladan.  
  
They had no idea how long they had stayed liek that but it didn't really matter, they weren't able to help Legolas and were too stressed to do anything else. Aragorn finally broke away from his brother and wiped the remaining tears away. His eyes were red from all the crying.  
  
"Hannon le." He was extremly greatful for the support his brother had just given him.   
  
"Think nothing of it. You would have done the same for me." While Aragorn was crying he had to hold his own tears back, he had to be strong for his brother's sake.  
  
"Of course." He definitely would have done the same for anyone apart of his family or his friends, whoever needed it.  
  
"Now, please Estel, drink this." He held the herbs out again.  
  
Aragorn nodded and drank it. He felt really tired afterwards and realized what Elladan had done. He fell against the elf when the herbs took affect.  
  
Aragorn was still sitting down when Elladan had given him the hug; the elf had just knelt down in front of him. The dark-haired elf just put Aragorn's arms under his head on the bed, knowing that the human would want to be close to his friend even during sleep.

* * *

Legolas had been greatly touched by the scene with Elladan supporting the crying Aragorn. He had seen it through the haze of pain he was experiencing. Neither of them saw him watching them. Once his eyes got too heavy to keep open his elven hearing picked up the sound of the quiet sobs.  
  
He knew that the human rarely cried and he himself had never seen him cry before. He felt guilty for causing it but he couldn't help it; it's not like he could miraculously recover. If he could, he most definitely would.  
  
Legolas couldn't believe it when Aragorn had said that he was suffering so he shouldn't drink the herbs to ease his own pain. Right then he wished he'd just have a full recovery somehow, well, it's not like he didn't want that anyway.   
  
The blonde elf relaxed and fell asleep with these thoughts in his head.

* * *

Two updates in one day.... I'm on a roll. Woohoo. -=ahem=- Anywayz... I hope you peoples enjoyed this chapt. No progress on the antidote yet. -=shrugs=- Maybe next chapt. Poor Aragorn, the worrying overwhelming him.... Guess we'll just have to wait.. hehehe. -=shifts eyes=-   
  
**Plz Review!!!**  
  
Ja ne 


	11. Grief

**Disclaimer**: This is so pointless.....  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes. As always I'll go through and fix it.  
  
I'm on a roll this weekend. :) -- that's so ugly. It's so much easier to post when I'm at my dad's. I have lots of time here. I'm a loser and have no friends here. -=shrug=- Not like it really matters anywayz. Doesn't bother me any. Ohhh... good song. Easier to Run is on. Hehe.. the best song by Linkin Park. Wow, I think I really need to stop with this now.

This fic is so much easier to write at the moment.... which is good for you peoples.

* * *

_Review Responses_  
  
**Deana** - Lol! Well, it's not like you should talk any. ;-)  
  
**Lady of the Twilight Woods** - Thx! And welcome to the story. :)  
  
**CSI3** - Thx but what do you mean by 'ship?'  
  
**Jadesaber** - Yeah, hopefully he won't have to suffer much longer. Who knows how he'll escape it though. -=evil grin=-  
  
**Enelya Aldarion** - LMAO! That's great! Thx for the compliment... I think.... -=is still laughing=- Sry, dunno why I find it so funny. hehehe.  
  
**galadriel evenstar** - Yes, indeed. We'll just have to see what'll happen to the poor elf.  
  
Happy, happy times ahead...... maybe... okay maybe not... just read. I'm in a really weird mood for some reason. -=shifts eyes=- Anywayz.... plz review!

* * *

**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
Grief**

* * *

He was floating above the finished battlefield, watching as the uninjuried moved the dead and helped the injured. He saw Elladan carrying someone with dark hair; he looked different from the others. Then he realized why: he had round ears. _He is human!_   
  
He went in for a closer view. He only knew of one human who lived in Imladris. He prayed it wasn't the one he was thinking of. The figure in Elladan's arms was not moving.  
  
The blonde didn't have to go much closer when he recognized the figure and confirmed his fears, it was Aragorn.  
  
He screamed his name but was surprised when no sound escaped his lips. _What is going on?_ He continued following Elladan.  
  
On the way he saw countless numbers of dead and dying elves. Among them was Elrond supporting his younger son, Elrohir. _At least they are walking._  
  
They had just entered the healing rooms, which was crowded with injured elves. Elladan was somehow able to find an empty bed and laid Aragorn on it. The archer was shocked to find that so many elves were in the room. _How did I miss all this?_ He hadn't even been aware that a battle had taken place.  
  
He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his own lifeless body on one of the beds.   
  
_Wha- what's going on?_ Legolas repeated his first question and went over to his body. It took him a while but he did find that he was still alive, which only caused more confusion. His body was weak and his chest barely rose to indicate he was alive; even his pulse was weak and hard to find.  
  
Legolas decided to abandon his body and worries about it when he remembered Aragorn's condition. He quicky relocated him and went over to him and Elladan.  
  
The archer wouldn't have thought it at first but Aragorn was conscious; his eyes were open. He didn't know if he just hadn't noticed it before or if they hadn't been open. He tossed that thought aside, deciding it wasn't important at the moment. He was surprised to see that Aragorn was actually arguing with Elladan over something. It seem like the elf was offering him something but he was refusing it. At first Legolas couldn't hear the words but they slowly came to him, quietly at first but then they got louder.  
  
"....take them!" Aragorn ended his sentence.  
  
"I shall force you to if you do not yourself!" Elladan was clearly angry at the human.  
  
"I thought I told you long ago: I shall not take any of the herbs to relieve my pain!" He paused. "Legolas cannot so why should I be allowed to get relief. It would not be fair."  
  
"Because you will die without them. I shall not let you die!" Sadness replaced his anger. "Do you think Legolas would want you to die because of this?"  
  
It looked as though Aragorn was about to give in but then his stubbornness prevailed. "I do not care! He cannot tell me to take them, once he does then I shall drink it!" Aragorn was refusing treatment of any kind; everyone was upset with him.  
  
Legolas was shocked. _What does he think he is doin? He will die._ He thought for a moment. _Does that mean it would be my fault since he is refusing treatment on my account?  
_  
All of a sudden the air changed and the only people in the room were Aragorn and himself, his body as well as his other form.   
  
Legolas floated over to the window and saw that it was days later, he couldn't be exact but guessed about four days, according to the stars.  
  
The blonde archer went back over to Aragorn and didn't know how it was possible but he checked his pulse and found it very weak. His chest hardly rising; it took longer and longer after each breath.  
  
_It is my fault_. He decided after remembering Elladan and Aragorn's conversation.  
  
Time shifted again and now there was Elrohir, Elladan and Lord Elrond surrounding Aragorn, who was still laying on the bed. They all had forlorn expressions; they even had tears falling silently down their faces.  
  
_He.. he cannot be...  
_  
"No..." He opened his eyes. He found that he had tears running down his own face.  
  
"What is wrong?" Aragorn had woken not long ago from the herbs and found tears on the sleeping elf's face.  
  
Legoasl looked up at Aragorn. He tried to reach his hand to see if he was truly there but he was too weak even for something so simple.  
  
Aragorn was confused as to why the elf was crying but didn't question him again. He noticed that his friend was too weak to reach his hand so he grabbed Legolas' hand.  
  
Having contact with Aragorn only caused more tears to fall, he thought that the human was dead.  
  
"Legolas....?"  
  
"Nothing. Nothing is.. wrong." He whispered hoarsely with a smile.  
  
Aragorn squeezed Legolas' hand, still confused but he just shrugged it off. "If you say so." He was just glad that Legolas was able to wake up. By the looks of it he hadn't gotten that much rest but at least he managed to get some.  
  
Elladan walked into the room. He was surprised to find Legolas awake. Then he thought it strange that Legolas had a tear-stained face. "What happened?" He asked Aragorned concerned.  
  
"I have no idea. He told me not." He was also puzzled but couldn't do anything about so let it go. "When I asked him he said nothing was wrong." He whispered to Elladan.   
  
_At least he seems more relaxed._ Elladan thought, wondering why he'd be more comfortable while crying.  
  
The blonde archer closed his eyes again, being exhausted. He felt Aragorn's hand loosen his hold on his hand so tightened his own hold on the human's.  
  
Aragorn was surprised when Legolas tighted his hold on his hand when he was going to get up to talk to Elladan. The elf had just gotten back from talking with Lord Elrond and Elrohir.   
  
_I shall have to wait till he sleeps._ He didn't want to talk about the antidote when Legolas could hear him, in case there was only bad news.  
  
The dark-haired elf decided to bring up a chair close to Aragorn and wait until Legolas fell asleep.  
  
It took about half an hour for the ailing elf to fall asleep through the pain he had to endure.  
  
"What did ada have to say?" The ranger asked once sure that the elf was fast asleep. He was still holding his hand since Legolas wouldn't let go. He didn't mind holding it anyway. However, he did move it into a more comfortable possition, putting their hands on the bed.  
  
"So far there has been no change." Elladan wasn't happy about giving this imformation to Aragorn but he didn't have a choice. He knew that the human wouldn't leave him alone until he told him the truth. "It seems as though the orcs have created a new type of poison. They are having more problems finding the cure."  
  
Aragorn nodded, not expecting anything else. If the others had found the cure then they all would have rushed into the room and announced it. "Is there nothing we can do to help then?"  
  
"I am not sure. They did not say. The best thing for you to do is watch Legolas." The elf remembered him crying. "He most have dreamed something happened to you or one of us so just stay by his side."  
  
Aragorn could only agree. That was the only explaination for the elf's behavior. He really didn't want to leave the elf's side anyway.  
  
"I am going to check his wounds." Elladan decided that it couldn't hurt any. Besides the bandage needed to be changed. He knew that the wound wouldn't look any different then before... well, it would probably look worse, but he still needed to do something - anything to distract his thoughts and if it would make Legolas more comfortable all the more better.  
  
Aragorn would have moved out of his brother's way if Legolas still didn't have a tight hold on his hand. He apologized for the inconvience but there was nothing he could do about it.  
  
"Tis alright. I shall just work around you." Elladan didn't have to really look where Aragorn was anyway. The only places he needed to look was on Legolas' arm and leg. Those were the only places with injuries that would have bothered the elf, were he conscious and able to move about. The poison was causing the gash on his arm to not heal.  
  
The dark-haired elf wasn't surprised to find the poisoned wound an even darker shade of black and the area surrounding it swollen. He tried to be as careful as possible while tending to the injury, it hurt the poor elf if he put pressure on it. Throughout the entire time he was treating it Legolas had whimpered in pain and had tried to pull away from him. Elladan had accidently caused the elf to cry out in pain when wrapping it back up. He never let go of Aragorn's hand though; he had even increased his hold.  
  
When Elladan checked Legolas' arm injury it didn't cause the elf any noticeable discomfort, for which he was glad. He really didn't like hurting him even if it was accidental.  
  
Aragorn just watched Legolas as Elladan treated him. When Legolas would wince he would squeeze his hand in reassurance, he didn't know how much good it was doing but did it nonetheless. He thought it did something since Legolas calmed down a little afterwards.

* * *

"Is that it?" Elladan asked his father after he had stopped everything. They had been working nonstop so when Elrond finally did stop it definitely meant something.  
  
"Perhaps." Erond was pretty sure that he had infact found the cure but couldn't be sure. After all he thought the same thing last time and look what happend. He most certainly wasn't going to get his hopes up and then have them shattered if it didn't work. He made that mistake last time, with not only himself but his sons and Legolas as well.  
  
Lord Elrond had gotten a different reaction with the solution before he stopped. All the other times (with the exception of the last time he had given it to Legolas) he had gotten the same result. He had only made a simple change in what he had been doing and he might have found it. _Should have thought of it before._ Had he thought of it he would have but all that was important was the here and now.  
  
"Shall we go and find out?" Elladan asked trying to keep his excitment in check. He couldn't help but be excited. They had been looking forever and they might have finally found it!  
  
The two elves couldn't believe how complex the poison was. _The orcs are getting more advanced. Not a good thing.  
_  
Elrond carefully picked up the once again **possible** cure and started walking to the healing rooms.  
  
_This has to be it.__  
_

* * *

The question is: Is it really the antidote? Hehehe... ya gotta love it. Okay, you prob'ly don't but... whatcha gonna do? Review? Oh, that'd be so nice. ;-) 

I think the beginning dreamish part was weird, but whatever.... let me know what you thought about it.  
  
-=bangs head against the desk=- What was I going to write? Grrrrr... I hate it when that happends.  
  
**Plz Review!!**  
  
Ja ne  
  
Man, I wish I could remember... I think it was important.


	12. Waiting

**Disclaimer**: I own... ummm.... nothing. :(  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes. As always I'll go through and fix it.

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_Review Responses_  
  
**Star-Stallion** - Glad ya liked the dream sequence. 'Elf boy'... hehe.  
  
**Gozilla** - Thank you much.  
  
**Harry Estel** - -=speechless=- Well, thx. Never expected to receive such praise from someone. :)  
  
**melissa** - LMAO! Sry, 'bout confusing you. It was kinda meant to be.. well, no... I dunno what it was meant to do but glad ya like the story. :)  
  
**Jadesaber** - Thx.... we'll just have to wait and see. -=grins=-  
  
**empath89** - thx... and here's your update.  
  
**Lady of the Twilight Woods** - Yeah, that is what it was supposed to be triggered from, but I still thought it was _kinda_ wierd.....  
  
**galadriel evenstar** - Ummmm... prob'ly not. Dunno.. read and find out. :)  
  
**CSI3** - That's what I thought but wasn't sure. Umm.. you can think of this as shounen-ai if ya wanna... doesn't really matter. If Legolas survives then I'm pretty sure I'm gonna write a sequel and that one will have shounen-ai/yaoi/slash/ship.. whatever ya wanna call it. So many words for one thing..... Well, I'm glad you're enjoying this fic.   
  
**Deana** - lol.... guess you're just gonna have to read and find out, huh?  
  
Phew.. okey. I was really surprised when I received so much more responses than I usually do. I was really happy though. :) I love to get reviews! Plz keep them coming! Enjoy the chapt! :)

* * *

**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Twelve  
  
Waiting**

* * *

They waited for hours for a sign that the antidote was working, however, the only sign they had received that showed anything was when the blonde elf screamed in pain when the liquid had entered his system. Legolas had fallen asleep soon after. Whether it was from exhaustion no one knew, and probably wouldn't be able to find out. They were just relieved that he didn't have the same reaction as the last time they had tried.  
  
"We shall have to wait to see if it worked." Elrond said, going towards the door. "Let me know if there is a change."  
  
The others nodded, settling into chairs. Aragorn was sitting in the same spot as before since Legolas still wouldn't let his hand go, while both Elrohir and Elladan pulled up a couple chairs so they could also sit next to Legolas.  
  
Hours later the blonde elf still hadn't woken up. Aragorn had fallen asleep on Legolas' bed again; the other elves both fell asleep also leaning on Legolas' bed.  
  
Elrond came in to check on the elves and human when he hadn't received word in hours. He smiled when he saw the scene: everyone asleep around Legolas, who was, unfortunately, still sleeping.  
  
The elf-lord went over to him; checked his pulse and found it weak. _Perhaps it is not working._ Elrond was concerned about the elf. If he didn't get rid of the poison soon then he wouldn't live much longer. He checked the leg wound and found it looking the same as it did before. However, it didn't look worse, which was an improvement. It had been steadily getting worse and worse as time went by. He quickly put some herbs on it and bound it back up. He frowned when he didn't hear the blonde elf make a noise the whole time he had been tending to the injury. All the other times he had at least moaned.  
  
"Wake up soon." The elder elf whispered to the still form. Then he left to preoccupy his thoughts. He didn't want to dwell on something he could not change.  
  
Hours later Aragorn awoke and sat up; he stretched all his sore muscles from the poor sleeping position. While stretching he looked over at the archer, who still lay fast asleep. _It has to have been at least half a day since we first gave him the antidote._ He thought. _Should he not be awake?_ Aragorn thought worriedly. He wanted to speak with his father but wanted to stay by Legolas' side, especially is he should wake. The human knew he'd wake, it was just a matter of time. There was no way he'd abandon that thought. He just wanted Legolas to be better. If he were better he'd also be able to hear one of his beautiful songs that he hadn't heard since the morning of the orc attack, days ago.  
  
Elladan woke up and then Elrohir soon after. They also thought it was a bad thing that Legolas was still unconscious but there was nothing they could do about it. They voiced this thought but only came up with only one conclusion: whatever they gave the elf made him worse and he might have to stay in his comatose state until he died. But they refused to accept this.  
  
The twins decided they'd go talk to their father and see what information they could get from him. Any kind of new about there being even a possiblity of awakening would raise their hopes.  
  
They knocked on the door to Lord Elrond's study before entering. They didn't know what he was doing and had nothing to tell him about Legolas' condition so there was no need to rush.  
  
"Enter." The twins heard a voice from within the room.   
  
Once they entered they saw Elrond sitting on one of the chairs. He looked exhausted. "Ada have you had no sleep at all?" Elladan asked worried. Even elves needed sleep, less than humans but still needed it.  
  
"It is of no concern." He said without his voice wavering to match his fatigue. "I am fine." He said while standing up.  
  
The twins both thought differently but didn't question the matter any further. Their father wouldn't tell them he was exhausted even if he had collapsed right in front of them.  
  
"Has there been a change in Legolas' condition?" Elrond asked.  
  
"Nay, he still sleeps." Elrohir replied sadly. He wished it was the opposite as his answer but it was not.  
  
Elrond sighed, his weariness once more showing before he recovered his composure.  
  
"Do you know when he shall wake?" Elladan asked.  
  
The elf-lord shook his head. "I know not if that was even the antidote. For now we can only hope that he soon awakes. I am fairly sure he will. His body did not have the bad reaction that it had before. Tis always a good sign."  
  
None could disagree. However, they still wanted Legoals to wake so they could question him on how he felt. Not only that but it would be good to see his crystal-blue eyes open once more and hopefully removed of the haze from his fever.  
  
"Is there nothing we can do to help?"  
  
"Aye, nothing till he wakes, which we can only pray be soon." He wish they could do something to help speed up the elf's recovery but there was nothing while he was in his comatose state.  
  
The twins started leaving feeling no better or worse than when they first entered. They hadn't expected to be able to help Legoals since he was still unconscious. They did hope for more information but could live without it.   
  
"Oh, and ada," Elladan said stopping by the door. Once his father looked at him he continued, "Get some rest." He smiled and then left. Even if the elder elf could hide his exhaustion well, it didn't make any difference since he had already seen how weary his father was when they had first gotten there.  
  
"You know he shall not rest till there's news on Legolas - good news. Probably not even till he wakes and looks him over." Elrohir said, stating only the truth.  
  
"Aye, but it is always worth the try. He could end up listening one of these times."  
  
Elrohir looked over at his twin and rolled his eyes. "Hopeful today, are we not?"  
  
"Tis better to be hopeful then doubtful." The elder twin replied with a smirk.  
  
"Now you are just being foolish." Elrohir said jokingly.  
  
"Perhaps. How about I bring some of my foolishness to Estel? He needs it, does he not?"   
  
"Indeed he does." Elrohir said walking side-by-side with his twin to the House of Healing.  
  
"I really hope Legolas wakes soon. It will devastate Estel if he should not recover." Elladan said, changing the conversation toa serious one.  
  
The younger twin only nodded in agreement. Everyone knew how much the human cared for the blonde elf. "Let us hope for the best."  
  
They gave a heavy sigh, wishing none of this had happened, like so many times before. _Something always has to happen to one of them. For once why can they not return unscathed?_ Both elves thought along the same lines.  
  
They had just reached the room and quietly opened the door, in case Legoals was awake.

* * *

Elrond carefully put the rest of the poison he had extracted from the orc-arrow into a securely closed container. He didn't want to take any chances so put it into a place where no one would reach. The elf-lord had a seperate spot for poisonous/dangerous things that everyone knew not to mess with. Not that he allowed anyone into his study without him being there other than his sons; they rarely entered.  
  
He cleaned up the rest of the area that he'd used while trying to find the antidote, making sure it was spotless. Elrond was just trying to take his mind off of Legolas' condition. He knew that he had a better chance then he did last time but it was still uncertain of the outcome.  
  
The elf-lord knew he should just listen to his sons and get the rest that he needed. However, he also needed to be awake for if Legolas woke up. Who knows how the poison affectedthe wood-elf. It could have afftected him mentally as well as physically. There was no way they could find out until they could question him and for that they needed him to be awake, which he cleary was not.  
  
Elrond let out a frustrated sigh. _I should just lock them up and never let them leave Imladris._ He thought wishing he could but not only would be not be able to keep them there but Lord Thranduil, Legolas' father, would come looking for his son. _If only I could. They definitely would not run into danger.. well, knowing them they would find some form of it since they seem to have a habbit of finding danger.  
_  
Lord Elrond sat down in one of his big, comfortable chairs and slowly doozed off without realizing it, while thinking about his sons, Legolas included.

* * *

Elladan slowly closed the door behind him and Elrohir.  
  
"How is he?"Elrohir asked quietly.  
  
"Afraid there is not change." Aragorn replied, sadly.  
  
"Fear not. I am sure he shall wake." Elladan said.   
  
Aragorn slightly nodded. He was hopeful himself, but having to just sit there and wait was going to drive him mad. _Please wake soon._ He thought desperately. The human squeezed the elf's hand. Even though he was unconscious the archer still had a firm grip on Aragorn's hand. The ranger didn't mind though. It somehow reassured him and gave him some hope.  
  
The twins decided to sit next to the elf's bed. Once again they were all waiting for Legolas to wake so they could see how he was doing and see if the antidote had worked. All of them prayed he'd wake soon.

* * *

Well.... how was it? Hopefully good. Still don't know if the antidote worked though, do ya? hehehehe.. ya gotta love it. -=grins evilly=- Guess you'll just have to wait 'til the next chapt.... still..... gomen.  
  
**Plz Review!!** And don't give up on this fic! :)  
  
Ja ne 


	13. Did he?

**Disclaimer**: Okay, okay, I guess I don't own anything. Why do you have to rub it in? -=sniff sniff=-  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.

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_Review Responses_  
  
**Gozilla** - Thank you much! I'm glad it's detailed.. I used to have a really bad problem with that...  
  
**Amara** - hehe... ya know you love the cliffies.... ;-) I guess you're just gonna have to read and find out if he's goin' to wake or not... :) Hmmm... I dunno how I can, you tell me? -=sweatdrop=- That was odd.... Anywayz... Oh, what was the Narnia thingie? I dunno if I should know about it or not.   
  
**othrilis** - Thanks! Appreciate it! :)  
  
**Evenstar** - Thx. I'm glad you're enjoying it. And you have no idea how much of a compliment that was cuz I love her fics too! :) Go Deana! :) Yes, indeed... the plot bunnies.. whatcha gonna do about them....  
  
**CSI3** - Muahahaha.... -=shifts eyes=-  
  
**empath89** - We'll see.... Yeah, don'tcha just feel sry for everyone. :)  
  
**Deana** - Hmmm.... I'll have to see about that....  
  
This chapt is actually a lot longer than the rest.... like double the size. Normally the chapts are around 5-6 pages written but this is 12! Crazy! I was thinkin' about splittin' in but decided to give you guys a.... treat? Maybe... I just hope you like it. :) Plz review! I love hearing... reading... what you guys have to say. Sry 'bout the crappy title but I didn't know what to name it....

* * *

**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Thirteen  
  
Did he...?**

* * *

It had been a couple days later and Aragorn was forced to sleep in his own bed. He had put up quite a fight but he was too weary to have a convincing arguement. The twins also had been forced to their own room but they put up less of a fight.  
  
Everyone had been restless and overwhelmed with worry. They had all hoped that Legolas would be awake by now but there was still no sign of him gaining consciousness. The only sleep that Elrond had received was his short nap on the chair in his study. His sons tried to get him to sleep but there was no way they could make him.  
  
Aragorn had been resting for hours, his exhaustion finally taking over. The twins were up and trying to help their father by giving food and trying to convince him to get some rest.  
  
"At least take a short rest." Elladan argued determinedly. His father would get rest eventually, even if he had to slip some herbs into his drink while he wasn't looking.  
  
"If you do not get some much needed sleep you shall not be able to help Legolas when he does wake." Elladan said. Everyone still believed the blonde elf would wake, even if it had been days since they last saw movement from him.  
  
"He could wake while I sleep." Elrond still protested.  
  
"Then we shall wake you at the first sign of movement." Elrohir said.  
  
Lord Elrond sighed. He knew he should listen to his sons and sleep but he couldn't. He thought that even if he did try he still wouldn't be able to. On the other hand he knew that his sons wouldn't give up until he promised to at least **try** to sleep. "Fine. I'll try to get some rest. **But** at the very first sign of even the slightest movement you must get me."  
  
Both twins looked at him directly in the eye and told him that they would. They were shocked at first that he had given up so easily. They figured it was because he was more tired than he was willing to admit, even to himself. Even if Elrond hadn't made them says that, they would have gone for him since he would know what to do. Everyone did want the best possible results for the blonde elf and getting him would enable that.  
  
"I shall be off then." Elrond really was tired and they had convinced him to get his much needed rest so he didn't want to waste time. The longer it took, the longer he would sleep and the less of a chance he would have of being awake when Legolas woke. "Remember." He added, walking out of his study to his own room.  
  
The twins both shook their heads and walked back to the House of Healing. When they entered they found Aragorn once more sitting next to the elven archer.  
  
"I thought you were resting?" Elrohir questioned the weary looking human.  
  
Aragorn looked up at the younger twin and didn't say anything.  
  
Both twins noticed that Aragorn's eyes had a considerable amount of sorrow. If they hadn't known better they would have thought that Legolas had died while they were gone. Thankfully, that was not the case.  
  
"Do not dispair, Estel. He lives, and shall not die." Elladan said, sounding more confident than he felt.  
  
"Iston." Was the human's only reply.  
  
All he needed was for Legolas to at least twitch, that's all. But he still showed no signs of movement. He had been still for days and days.  
  
Elladan went to his youngest brother and wrapped his arms around him, giving him a hug that everyone knew he needed.  
  
"All will be well, you shall see." Elrohir added. He went next to Legolas and checked him over; seeing if one of the bandaged needed to be replaced. He was relieved to see that they didn't. Before the antidote Elrond had given the elf, the injury would start bleeding again, even if Legolas hadn't made any sudden moves that would reopen it. The poisoned wound didn't really close in the first place though. Since Elrohir hadn't seen any blood on the bandage he took it as a good sign. _That must have been the antidote._ He thought happily, but also sadly because it seemed that the drink, or Legolas' poor state before hand, had put him in the comatose state that he was now stuck in.  
  
"His wound is not bleeding anymore." _For the moment at least._ He dared not say that aloud. That would only pull Aragorn farther into his dispair.  
  
The human looked up at Elrohir; the elf noticed that it looked as though just those words had helped the hope within Aragorn rise. He was glad he could help, but just hoped that his words were true and that it wouldn't start bleeding again. That would only make things worse.  
  
Aragorn once more took hold of Legolas' hand and sat there watching the elf as if his wishes could restore him.  
  
The elves sighed, knowing there'd be no way they'd be able to get their brother to go to his own room and sleep. They had been lucky enough when they had convinced their father to rest.  
  
Their thoughts were pushed aside when they saw Aragorn jump. "What is it?"  
  
"I... I thought...." He trailed off looking as if he were waiting for something. His face, that had lit up with excitment for some reason turned to dismay. "I guess not." The ranger said, sounding crestfallen.  
  
"What happened?" They both asked confused.  
  
"I... I thought I felt him move, but I guess not." He said sadly. "Just my hope getting the better of me, I suppose."  
  
Elladan and Elrohir exchanged a glance wondering if it really was his imagination or not. And thinking if they should get their father or not. They decided that since it was a minor, if at all, movement and there hadn't been another, they wouldn't get Elrond. He needed his rest after all.  
  
Elladan sat down in the same chair that he had been using for days and Elrohir did the likewise. They sat with their younger brother wanting to give him their support.

* * *

It had been almost two weeks since Legolas had first fallen into his comatose state. The others barely had any hope left, if any. They were partially surprised that his body could even survive this long. They were only able to give him water; no food. Were he human he would have died already. They were grateful that he was surviving, it showed that Legolas was fighting still, even if you couldn't tell on the outside.  
  
Since Aragorn felt, or thought he felt the slight twitch, there had been no other movements. The ranger had been carried to his own room when he collapsed due to exhaustion. He had worn himself out by staying awake for days and not eating right. Legolas being unconscious for so long was tearing him apart. Everyone knew that elves could die of grief and that human's usually didn't. However, they were afraid that Aragorn was going to die from it by not taking care of himself if the unconscious elf did not wake soon.  
  
The human had been sleeping for almost a day when he woke with a start. He jumped out of his bed and ran to Legolas, ignoring the strange looks he was receiving from the elves passing him in the halls. He threw open the door and rushed to Legolas' side.  
  
Elladan looked up in surprise when he saw Aragorn rush over to Legolas.  
  
The ranger gave a huge sigh of relief when he felt the archer's pulse. He had dreamed that Legolas had died and had to make sure that it was **only** a dream.  
  
"What is wrong?" Elladan asked when he saw the human had calmed down.  
  
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Aragorn said, content about the fact that Legolas was still alive, even in his state. _Thank the Valar he is alive._  
  
Elladan shrugged it off, everything looked fine so he decided that it was unimportant. He looked at the door when he once more saw it open, but in a much less rushed manner.  
  
"Did something happen? They are saying that Estel ran here in a hurry." Elrohir said concerned. However, he looked to Aragorn and saw that the human's face looked relieved, where the elf's was still the same.  
  
"Tis nothing to worry about. Only a dream." Aragorn finally spoke.  
  
They were still sitting in their usual spots about an hour later. Aragorn spoke up excitedly, surprising the two elves. "He... he moved! He ready did! I did not imagine it!" He had been staring at the elf waiting for a moment like this. This time though Legolas definitely moved, his whole hand just about moved. It was certainly something to get excited about, especially since there hadn't been anything in so long.   
  
Elrohir wasted no time and ran to get his father, who was in his study doing some research or something.  
  
"Ada! Ada! Come quick!" The dark-haired elf shouted.  
  
Elrond quickly dropped everything, and followed his son withtout question; assuming the cause for the call. Everything had been relatively calm for the past week so there wasn't really any other reason why Elrohir would be so hasty.  
  
Aragorn didn't look up when he heard the door open, knowing who it would be and not wanting to take his eyes off of Legolas in case he opened his eyes. The elf had moved a couple of times since Elrohir left, a very good sign.  
  
Elrond rushed over to the bed and looked down at Legolas, frowning when he saw that he was still unconscious.  
  
"I swear he moved at **least** several times." Aragorn said trying to contain his excitment.  
  
Lord Elrond nodded in acknowledgment and checked the archer's pulse. He was relieved when he felt it. It had actually returned to it's normal pace, instead of being erratic like it had been for weeks.

* * *

Legolas could hear noises - it sounded like someone was talking but he couldn't understand what they were saying. He struggled to open his eyes, wanting to know who was with him. The archer still felt really tired and wanted to sleep but his curiousity was winning the battle.  
  
Very slowly he gained control over his eyes and forced them open. Once open he couldn't make out anything in the room, for his eyesight was blurry.  
  
"...olas." He finally understood what the voices were saying and caught the end of its word. "Legolas." The voice repeated excitedly.  
  
The elven archer groaned and started to close his eyes but stopped once he realized what he was doing and opened them the rest of the way again. He knew he had been sleeping for a long time by the way his body felt so stiff. He wanted to find out what was going on; something obviously was since the voices sounded so happy.  
  
"Can you hear me, Legolas?" The voice asked, showing concern. Said elf turned to the voice and seeing that his vision finally cleared up he noticed it was Elrond that was speaking. The elf-lord repeated his question.  
  
Legolas nodded slightly, the only thing he could manage at the moment.  
  
Excited voices next to Elrond were saying things that Legolas couldn't understand. They were all speaking at once and talking quickly. He looked over at the many voices and found that they belonged to Aragorn, Elladan and Elrohir. He gave a small smile to all the elves - and human.  
  
The blonde elf closed his eyes; this time not reopening them. He felt too tired to ignore his bodies need to rest. He felt a lot more comfortable now, knowing that he had his friends surrounding him.  
  
Elrond and the others were disappointed when they saw Legolas once again go to sleep, however, this time they knew that was all it was... sleep. They knew he would wake within hours and were relieved to know that. Elrond would be able to ask him if he suffered anymore pain, which it didn't seem like he had been during the short period he was awake, and he could ask if there were any mental affects. He could see the physical wounds himself so there was no need to ask anything about that. The elf-lord was pleased to see the once ailing elf's wounds healing and his healing abilities helping it. That was one of the best things about the whole thing, for it showed his sure recovery, unless he should somehow have a relapse.  
  
Elrond looked over at his youngest son and couldn't help but smile at his look of absolute happiness. All of them were happy really. How could they not be? Their friend finally awoke after weeks!  
  
"He... he finally woke up!" Aragorn said, almost disbelievingly. It felt like forever since the last time he had seen Legolas' piercing blue eyes.  
  
"Aye, he did."   
  
Aragorn sat on the same chair once again; with no dispair. He knew the elf would wake soon. Elorhir and Elladan also sat down in their chairs. Elrond joined them; not going back to his study.

* * *

It only took an hour for Legolas to wake up again. This time his mind was a lot more clear than it had been before.  
  
"Ada." He heard Aragorn say. Elrond was over by the counter doing something to pass the time.  
  
Elrond turned to face his son. The human pointed to Legolas and the elf-lord went over to the elf. Elrond looked at Legolas and smiled. "Glad to see you are awake again."  
  
"You had all of us scared." Elladan added.  
  
Legolas looked slightly confused. _Why would they be scared that I was sleeping?_ He thought, having no idea how long he really had 'slept.'  
  
As if reading the younger elf's thoughts Elrond said, "You were unconscious for almost two weeks."  
  
Legolas' eyes widened. _Two weeks!_ His mind exclaimed, surprised. _No wonder they were scared.  
_  
Elrond frowned, noticing that Legolas hadn't said a word and wondered if he couldn't or was just too tired to do so, or just didn't feel like it. He had to find out. "Legolas, can you talk?"  
  
The archer really didn't know. He hadn't even thought about it, since he was so tired. So he tried. At first nothing came out but he kept trying. "I-I... think.. s-so." He finally got out. His voice was hoarse and the words came out slowly from not using it in so long. He was glad to find that he could though. As was everyone else.  
  
Elrond nodded in approvement. "Now, you need to eat." His tone left no room for arguement.  
  
Legolas knew he would have to and he was kind of surprised to find that he actually was hungry. He hadn't been hungry in a long time. Around the morning of the first orc attack.  
  
Elladan and Elrohir decided to get something light and easy to go down for the elf. While they got the food Elrond checked the leg wound. Aragorn occasionally helped if necessary, which wasn't often.  
  
The elf-lord and human, were relieved to see that the injury was healing a lot. It already looked so much better than it had only a day ago. When Elrond was checking the wound Legolas only groaned once, maybe twice, and that was only because the area around the wound was still tender. That in itself was an excellent sign, that he hadn't groaned a lot, of course. Before he had screamed in pain because of it.  
  
The twins returned, each carrying a tray full of food.  
  
"Why did you bring so much? Legolas surely cannot eat all of it." Aragorn stated.  
  
"Because, my brother, everyone needs to eat. Not only Legolas." Elladan replied with a smirk that matched Elrohir's.  
  
Elrond smiled and finished wrapping the bandage around the once poisoned wound. They were pretty sure that they got rid of it, for good. When he looked up at Legolas he saw that he once again had his eyes closed but he knew the blonde elf wasn't asleep, for he was smiling. It warmed Elrond's heart to see it. The smile was neither forced nor fake, something he hadn't seen on anyone in a long time and something he truly missed.  
  
Elrond helped his patient up so he could eat and make sure he wouldn't choke. That defnitely would not be good. Having him survive the poison; a strong one at that and then die by choking. That would be terrrible!  
  
Legolas was embarassed about being fed to like an elfling but had no choice and he was hungry so let it go. He ate almost half of the broth and felt queasy aftwards. He hadn't had any food in a while so his stomache wasn't used to it. The feeling left soon enough though. However, he drank the water rather greedily, not realizing how thirsty he really was. His throat was really dry.  
  
Once he was done with everything Elrond spoke to Legolas. "You must get some rest now. Though you were unconscious for a long time that was hardly rest." The elder elf smiled down at Legolas, who was obviously still tired, whether or not he admitted it.  
  
The blonde archer nodded and closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep after whispering, "Hannon le," to all of them.  
  
Lord Elrond looked at his sons and they all held a look of pure happiness. He was sure he had the same look. There was no way he'd be able to hide it nor would he really want to. What would be the point?  
  
"Now, ion nin, we shall all eat." He said, remembering the food the twins had brought for all of them. They couldn't let it go to waste.  
  
When they were done eating they set the trays aside. Elrond got up and said that he was going to his room to sleep, with his spirits lifted he finally felt like he could get well-deserved rest. And told the others to do the same.   
  
A while after Elrond had left they started small conversations with each other. There was no longer any tension in the room that had been there previously. No more dispair, no more helplessness; no more sorrow. Just new hope and joy.

* * *

It was a couple days later and the prince was trying to convince Elrond to let him go outside, at least on the balcony.  
  
"I need to get some fresh air." Legolas tried to reason.  
  
"You are still not fully healed. I do not wish to risk it."  
  
"Risk what? You are risking a lot more by keeping me locked up in here than you would be if I were allowed to go out."  
  
Elrond sighed.  
  
"Please. I need to feel the wind upon me once again. To smell the scent of the nature that I haven't been able to enjoy in so long." Legolas pleaded.  
  
There was no way that the elf-lord would be able to turn down Legolas. His voice was filled with the desperate need to go outside. He echoed his sigh. "Very well. However, I shall accompany you, whether you wish it or not"  
  
Legolas smiled. He really didn't mind Elrond coming along, especially if it meant that he'd be able to go outside. He wanted Aragorn to be able to come with them as well, however, the human was sleeping and he did not want to wake him. He got about the same amount of rest as Legolas had, probably less, if possible. Although he had been unconscious it was hardly restful. He'd have to just let the ranger sleep, he deserved it anyway. The twins were also off doing something that Elrond had asked of them.  
  
"Shall we go?" Elrond asked. He had thought that the younger elf was in a rush to go but when Legolas stopped and thought about something it confused the elf-lord. He decided not to inquire about it though. Legolas would tell him if he wanted to.  
  
Legolas snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and slowly started to stand up. He collapsed right away but was caught by Elrond, who was fully prepared for it. He knew the elf would have to regain the control over his legs again.  
  
"Take it slowly." Elrond helped.  
  
Legolas took a deep breath and tried to walk again, holding onto the elder elf.  
  
Against the pain in his leg, they slowly managed to get to the balcony. Legolas was breathing hard from the exertion since he hadn't done anything in a long time.  
  
Elrond lead him to a chair and lowered him down onto it. Legolas smiled gratefully at the dark-haired elf. Then he looked out at the trees and sky and the flowers, relishing in the sight before him.  
  
"It has been too long." Legolas whispered, taking a deep breath to smell the nature around him.  
  
"Indeed it has." The elf-lord couldn't disagree the blonde elf's statement.  
  
Elrond smiled warmly when he saw the look of absolute bliss on the younger elf's face. _I guess it was a good idea for him to come out here. It does wonders on one's soul._ Legolas' eyes were closed, just enjoying the breeze and feel of the sun's warmth on his body.

* * *

Okay, so ther's that. He's finally awake!! Woohoo! Hey, at least I didn't make you peoples wait another chapt. I could have done that so easily if I split this chapt up. ;-) Aren'tcha glad I didn't? -=sweatdrop=- Anywayz... so how did ya like it? Oh, and do you guys want it to end here or should I add another chapt or two? Either way is fine by me and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do so I decided to leave it up to you peoples. Lemme know. Btw, sry if some of this sounds kinda weird or whatever.. I think some parts did... but that's just me. -=shrugs=-  
  
**Plz R&R!!  
**  
Ja ne 


	14. Messenger from Mirkwood

**Disclaimer**: Don't own anything to do with LOTR besides the DVDs and a poster. hehehe...  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.

* * *

Review Responses  
  
**October Skye** - umm.. thx..  
  
**Enelya Aldarion** - Yeah, anyday. I'm pretty sure I'm goin' to write the sequel.. don't expect it anytime soon though. I'm writing an InuYasha fic, this one (obviously) and have plans for another one, besides the sequel... blah.  
  
**empath89** - Well, I decided to make another chapt. So here ya go. :)  
  
**Amara** - Okey, well, here's the next chapt.. there might be another one too.. actually I'm pretty sure there will be. Yeah, I thought you were talkin' about that but wasn't sure. I never really did like that series that much. I tried readin' it and it just didn't work. Just my opinion. Happy for ya though. :) Shrek 2.. now there's a funny movie! -=grins=-  
  
**Jadesaber** - Guess I decided to make another chapt. Pretty sure there will be another too.  
  
Lady of the Twilight Woods - yay! happy! -=sweatdrop=- Anywayz... hope you enjoy this chapt as well.  
  
**Deana** - lmao! Hey for once you're not runnin'. -=grins=- Sry, couldn't resist. :)  
  
**Someone Reading** - Oh, but doesn't he suffer so well. :) Hehe... ya gotta love it. Ummm... yeah, I think I'll have more LOTR fics up... just check my profile every once in a while for updates. I'll more than likely post the summary when I think of one. :)  
  
**galadriel evenstar** - He will, he will. :) I miss my faces... -=sniff sniff=-  
  
Okay, well, I'm sry for the long wait. Having some issues and didn't really feel like writing.. they're solved... for the most part.. kinda... sorta... anywayz. I don't really like this chapt that much and I must apologize for any mistakes I make towards Mirkwood or anything else. I tried looking for info but couldn't find any and kinda stopped.... gomen. I think there will be another chapt, since this one doesn't really end it. So... yeah. Enjoy and plz review... it would make me feel so much better. -=grins=-

* * *

**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Fourteen  
  
Messenger from Mirkwood**

* * *

Legolas had fallen asleep on the balcony, lulled asleep by the soft breeze and the sound of nature. He hadn't felt that relaxed for a very long time and couldn't help but sleep. Elrond did nothing to prevent the young elf from it either. He looked so peaceful and needed the rest anyway.  
  
The elf-lord carefully picked Legolas up so as not to further injure his still healing leg and brought him back to his bed. Legolas was still sleeping with his eyes closed. It concerned Elrond deeply, but he didn't think about it much. Elrond, as well as everyone else, wished that the elf was his usual energetic self. However, that wasn't going to happen for a while still. Legolas, first had to be able to walk by himself. Then he'd be able to run around and even use his bow, like before they had set out on their hunting trip.  
  
Elrond was glad that Legolas was being patient about his inability to do anything on his own. He was afraid of when he no longer could be though.  
  
Aragorn had just walked into the room as Elrond laid Leoglas on his bed. "Did he try to run off?" The human asked. The prince had constantly been wanting out of the room so Aragorn thought that he finally tried by himself.  
  
"Nay. I helped him to the balcony. He was there for hourse before he finally fell asleep." Elrond said softly. He knew that Legolas hadn't been getting the best rest recently, surely a lingering effect of the now gone poison. The elf-lord was sure that within time he'd be able to rest peacefully; with his eyes open!  
  
"You actually let him?" Aragorn was surprised. He never let one of his patients out of bed in a condition like Legolas'.  
  
"Aye, he really needed it. And now look." He said pointing to the sleeping elf. "For the first time in days he is sleeping peacefully."  
  
Aragorn smiled at the sight. Legolas truly was relaxed. His breathing was, for the most part normal and by the way he was sleeping you could just tell. "Perhaps he should go outside more often when he is injured."  
  
"Absolutely not. He got lucky this time. It is not good for his health to be moving about on his leg." Elrond said sternly, turning to look at his son. Once he had he saw that his eyes held mirth and he realized that his son was only messing around with him.  
  
Aragorn started to laugh softly. "Lighten up, ada. I was merely joking. I know the ways of healing as well."  
  
They heard the door open but didn't turn to see who it was since they already knew who it was: Elladan and Elrohir. Legolas had requested that no other healers could treat him besides the people that were in the room with him now. He didn't like people fussing over him, much less strangers.  
  
"What's going on now?" Elrohi asked, seeing that the two were obviously fighting over something, or at least their father was, Aragorn looked pretty cheerful.  
  
"Oh, just having a conversation with out overstressed ada, who needs to get some more sleep." The human replied before his father could even open his mouth. Elrond shot him a look that told him to stop bugging him, but beneath his anger he saw that he was somewhat amused.  
  
"Ada, there's a messenger from Mirkwood that wishes to see you." Elladan said, remembering one of the reasons for their visit.  
  
All excitment left when they were reminded about Legolas' condition. Elrond would have to tell the messenger the truth too; it definitely wouldn't make things easier. Legolas' father wouldn't be too happy about the news of his son being poisoned, especially since he hadn't been informed. They had been too preoccupied with the elf's health to worry about his father.  
  
The elf-lord sighed heavily. "Very well. Please tell them I shall be there shortly."  
  
"I shall be back." Elladan left with the message.  
  
Elrond looked to the, thankfully, still sleeping elf. "They are going to want to see him." He said more to himself.   
  
"Aye, however, Legolas certainly shall not appreciate it, to say the least." Aragorn said, knowing of the elf's pride.  
  
"I do not wish to wake him either. I shall just have to think of something to keep them away." The elder elf thought for a few seconds. "Keep an eye on him. I shall be back."  
  
_Good luck._ Aragorn thought. Mirkwood's messengers were known for their stubbornness (as were most elves); they rarely gave up, especially in a case like this that involved their crown prince. Mirkwood really cared for him and thought he'd become a good king one day.

* * *

"My name is Liththar and I come on behalf of King Thranduil of Mirkwood. He wishes to know the whereabouts of his son." The messenger announced. He was a golden-haired elf, that was tall and you could tell he was strong just by looking at him. He wore Mirkwood's colors and stood up straight and proud, which gave him a stronger appearance.  
  
Elrond was not the least bit taken aback by his looks. Mirkwood's messengers were able to fend for themselves in case they came across trouble on their way. "Of course. He is here but is sleeping."  
  
Liththar's eyes widened. "Is he injured?" It was still light out so there'd be no other reason for him to be sleeping.  
  
"Aye, however, he is quickly recovering."  
  
"How did it happen?"  
  
"An orc arrow; it was poisoned. His leg is the only thing that needs recovery. It shall not take long. Of that I am certain." He could make that comment with ease. The elf-lord had seen the speed in which the younger elf's injury was healing and was very pleased.  
  
"Nevertheless, I must see him. Lord Thranduil wanted a full report concerning his son." The messenger said, showing his stubbornness.  
  
"He needs his rest. I shall have to ask you not to bother him." Elrond said, hoping that for once the messenger would just listen and take his leave.   
  
"I cannot. It would go against direct orders."  
  
"He has not been getting a lot of rest as of late. Today, however, he finally is resting peacefully. Shall you really rish waking him?"  
  
"My orders are to see him personally, since he is here after all." They weren't sure Legolas was still hunting or not but it had been quite a while so figured he wasn't and they were right.  
  
Elrond sighed. He had tried. The elf-lord knew that there was no way he'd be able to get him to leave without seeing the prince. "Very well. Follow me." He just hoped that Legolas would be able to continue his peaceful sleep and not have it disturbed. He would have to advise Liththar to keep his voice down and hope he listened.  
  
Both the messenger and Elrond were quiet as they walked to the room that Legolas occupied. The blonde elf was thinking about the prince and what condition he was in. He was most likely imagining that he was in a lot worse condition than he really was in. All of Mirkwood knew of how much trouble Legolas got into while with Aragorn - mostly.  
  
They arrived at the room and the messenger held his breath, preparing himself for what he'd find. Elrond told him to keep himself quiet and then opened the door. Once it was opened to reveal the still sleeping elf, he let out his breath in relief. Definitely not as bad as he was thinking. He also saw that the human, Aragorn, and Elrond's twins were waiting by Legolas' side. Elladan had returned after he had given the message about Elrond to Liththar. He nodded his head to each, greeting them.   
  
"Hannon le, my lord." He whispered and then walked up to Legolas to check him. He needed to make sure he really wasn't in a bad condition, looks could be deceiving, like they always said. "Where was he shot?" He asked quietly, not seeing anything.  
  
"His leg. You cannot see it with his clothing on. And I'm most certainly not going to even try and remove them without his permission. He would surely wake as well."  
  
"Worry not. I would not ask such a thing." _He really did not want me to look at the prince._ The messenger thought, seeing Elrond's behavior. "Any other injuries?"  
  
"There were some but they are fully healed." Elrond replied, wishing that he'd leave soon. The sooner he left the less likely Legolas would wake. He didn't want to seem rude though.  
  
Once the messenger was done with his thorough examination (that Elrond thought very unnecessary) he stepped away and went out into the hall, beckoning for the elf-lord to follow so as not to risk waking Legolas anymore than he had.  
  
With the door closed he started talking. "I thank you, my lord. I know that I intruded but it had to be done. I shall take my leave now." He bowed and left, satified with the examination. The only things he thought were bad was that the prince was sleeping with his eyes closed and had hadn't waken up the whole time, thought it was fairly short. He thought that Lord Thranduil would be pleased of his report, for the most part.  
  
Since the Mirkwood messenger was gone, for which Elrond was relieved, he went back to Legolas' room and entered quietly. "Has he woken?" He whispered to his sons.  
  
"Nay. He is still sleeping, thank the Valar."  
  
"Could you not get rid of him." Elrohir questioned.  
  
"He was relentless, as usual. He had to see Legolas for himself."  
  
They all knew that if it were possible Elrond would have convinced the messenger to leave and trust his word. At least it was over and Legolas was still sound asleep.  
  
"Come. We shall leave him to his rest." He was grateful that Legolas still slept, knowing that he really needed it, especialy since it was actually peaceful.  
  
They all quietly exited, hoping that he'd sleep for a while still.

* * *

Blah.. crap... it was all crap. It was too slow. I just should have waited to post 'til it was better.....  
  
Oh, and sry if Liththar isn't even a Mirkwoodish name. I just picked an elven name that thought looked kinda... cool.. maybe it fit... something.. dunno.  
  
There will be another chapt... may take a while.. may not. There's no more school! Yay! But it depends on if I actually feel like writting or not. I'll keep you guys in mind so don't give up on this story quite yet. :)  
  
**Plz Review!**  
  
Ja ne 


	15. Missing?

**Disclaimer**: In my dreams I own plently. ;-)

Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.

* * *

_Review Responses_  
  
**A Sly Fan** - Well, I'm glad ya think so. :) Thx for reviewin' and welcome to the story!   
  
**Enelya Aladrion** - Thx and it definitely did move slower. grrr.. I can't do the faces... sry 'bout that... Glad ya still are enjoying it; hope ya like this one as well. Thx for the luck too... I'll be needin' it. :)  
  
**Gozilla** - Thx... here's your chapt. :)  
  
**Celebrean** - Here's the chapt and thanks for the luck... it's needed.  
  
**Deana** - Hehe... Well, it's not like you should talk. You're hurting Legolas a lot more than I did. ;-) Post your next chapt soon. :)  
  
**Mornflower** - Thx. But I don't think that that chapt held much purpose other than me tryin' to get somethin' out for you peoples. -=shrugs=- Maybe it was to show that Thranduil was curious about his son. Dunno. I really appreciate your review though... and welcome to the story! :)  
  
**Lady of the Twilight Woods** - Thank you much! I think I missed your name on the last chapt and I must apologize.  
  
**empath89** - Ya never know. I've seen some people complain about some stupid things before. thx for the review.  
  
**galadriel evenstar** - Of course! :) I could never kill him off.... well, that's not true but I won't in this fic. ;-)  
  
Well, writting's a lot easier now than it was before. I think your reviews motivated me more, especially since the last chapt was by far my worst chapt that I've written... actually that's not true.. the first chapt of my first fic is. -=shudders=- That was horrible. Oops, I'm off the subject.... anywayz... I think the updates will be the usual pace now, if not quicker. Hope ya enjoy this chapt! Have fun! :)   
  
And I cannot type today so sry for the extra mistakes. I'll go through later and fix as many as possible.  
  
I miss my faces! -=sniff sniff=- ....ya know, that sounds really odd....

* * *

**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Fifteen  
  
Missing?**

* * *

Thankfully, Legolas had still slept hours after Liththar, the Mirkwood messenger, had left; getting the rest he needed. Unfortunately, Legoals was none too happy when he awoke and found out that he had came. He was even more upset that they hadn't woken him up.  
  
"You needed the rest though, mellon nin." Aragorn argued.  
  
"I do not care. You should have woken me." The blonde elf really did not appreciate it. Him being asleep while the messenger looked him over made him feel seem weak, especially since he hadn't woken the whole time. He was also still sleeping with his eyes closed to make matters worse.  
  
"Why is it really such a big deal? He is gone now." Aragorn knew it was something deeper than it just being rude, as Legolas had put it.  
  
The archer didn't answer right away but when he looked at Aragorn's face, which only showed concern, he couldn't help it and told the human the real reason. "It... it makes me feel weak." He paused. "The messenger will probably go home and say that I was too weak to do anything." _Which is partially true_. He added in thought. Having to get assistance to walk was really bothering him now.  
  
"How could you think such a thing? No one, especially from your own kingdom would even **think** that."  
  
"I guess you are right and I could not have thought that, but I still wish that I could have spoken with him."  
  
"There is no use dwelling on the past, which you cannot change." Elrond spoke, slight startling the two bickering friends. He had been standing at the door for a moment and, not meaning to, had overheard the end of their conversation. _At least I shall not have to send my own messenger to Mirkwood now._ He thought that was the only good thing that had been accomplished.  
  
Both Aragorn and Legolas sighed, knowing it to be true.  
  
"There we go." The elf-lord said with a smile. "Now, here is something to drink for your pain that you surely are experiencing form all the arguing and whatnot."  
  
Aragorn looked over at the younger elf and mentally slapped himself. Legolas' face was slightly tightened in pain, more than likely from a headache. He felt bad for continuing the subject in the first place. He could have ended it near the beginning but wanted to clear things up with the stubborn elf. The human had also forgotten that Legoals was even injured to begin with, during their conversation.  
  
Legolas had turned quickly when Aragorn looked at him at the mention of pain, however, he didn't turn fast enough. He knew that the human had caught a glance and now knew of his pain. He had hid it during their argument since it was easier to do so when the ranger was distracted. The blonde elf didn't want to appear any more weak than he already had been. He bowed his head in shame and said in a quiet voice, "Aye, I shall drink."  
  
Elrond lifted the archer's chin up and said, "There is nothing to be ashamed of. You were injured and could not stop it." He reassured him after seeing his expression. Then he handed the cup over to the younger elf and after a "thank you" Legolas drank. He kind of wished that the drink had something in it to make him sleep so he could escape to the peaceful darkness once more. They all knew he needed the rest anyway. However, the drink had nothing.  
  
"Fear not. You shall be back to your usual self soon enough. Just let your injury heal and do not try to walk off on your own, which I know you wish you could." Elrond said, seeing the sadness within Legolas' eyes. He wished he could do something more for the depressed elf but there was nothing.  
  
"Iston." The blonde elf swallowed the last of the tea and set it down on his lap, holding it with both hands. He turned to the window, watching the birds fly and the gentle breeze play with the grass and flowers, swaying them to and fro. He sighed heavily, desperately wanting to go by himself but would settle for company since that would be the only way he would be allowed out.  
  
Sensing Legolas' need to go outside... well, his longing gaze was a big tip off, he asked, "Would you like someone to go outside with you?" The elf-lord tried to word it so it didn't seem like the young elf couldn't do it on his own; just have someone accompany him.  
  
Legoals looked toward Elrond trying not to display his shock. He couldn't believe that the elder elf was actually letting him go out **twice**. One was rare in itself. Legolas thought that since he had already been out with his injury he wouldn't be able to anytime soon, much less the next day!  
  
The archer slowly nodded, not wanting to cause the dulled headache to grow once again. Elrond took the cup from him to make it easier for the elf. Then Legoals removed his covers and brought his legs over the edge of the bed. He willed the dizziness away, being successful. He then tried to stand, unfortunately, his injured leg couldn't support his weight yet, and he started to fall. Reaching for support, he found Aragorn, who had been quiet during the conversation. The ranger was excited at the look of happiness that had come across the elf's face at the mention of going outside.  
  
Legolas was grateful for his protectiveness. Without arguing he leaned on Aragorn and they started making their way to the balcony, which was the closest they could get to the trees. Elrond wouldn't allow Legolas to go down steps quite yet, so it would just have to wait. He could be happy with just the balcony, for now.  
  
"I shall by in my study if you should need me." The elf-lord stated, after noticing that the two friends had everything under control.  
  
"Alright, ada." Argorn responded, so that the elder elf would know that he had heard what was said.  
  
Legolas was glad to find out that his leg didn't hurt as much as the last time he had walked on it, though it did still hurt, but that was to be expected.  
  
They reached the chairs so Aragorn helped lower the injured elf onto one. Once seated Legoals also found that he didn't feel as dizzy as before. He had to be happy of this discovery, it was a good sign that showed he was recovering fairly quick.  
  
Legolas' smile was contagious and Aragorn couldn't help but do the same, though he didn't know why the elf was doing so. He was just glad that he was. Legolas hadn't been happy for quite a while, since the 'hunting trip.' He was curious as to why he was happy though so he inquired.  
  
Legolas answered truthfully about his leg and his dizziness. Aragorn now knew why he had been smiling and also thought it was a good reason for it.  
  
The blonde elf closed his eyes and listened to the sounds surrounding them. He got to enjoy them once more, which greatly pleased him.  
  
After a while the elf spoke up. "Where are Elrohir and Elladan? I have not seen them all morning."  
  
"They went to the borders. Ada heard that there was some danger around there and had them check it out." Aragorn paused thinking. "That was about four to five hours ago."  
  
Legolas nodded, but was puzzled. "They should have returned by now, should they not?"  
  
Aragorn agreed. He was starting to get worried about his brothers.  
  
"What kind of danger was it?" Legolas was now more concerned about the twins, and stopped thinking about nature for the moment.  
  
"I know not. Ada just told me where they went. They left before I woke."  
  
Legolas thought about it for a while. "Worry not. I am sure they shall return later, after all we do not know why they left exactly. Maybe it required more time than usual." Legoals reassured, but could not keep all the worry out of his own voice. What he had said did ease some of the worry though.  
  
"You are right." Aragorn finally agreed and relaxed. Turning back to look at the view surrounding them he said, "Now, how about we go back to enjoying this beautiful view?" He said lightly, still concerned about his brothers but less so then he had been.  
  
They sat there in silence, thinking and watching everything around them. They couldn't have asked for a better day. The only thing that could ruin it is if the twins didn't return soon.  
  
A while later Aragorn could no longer stand waiting and stood up. "Forgive me, mellon nin, but I need to ask ada what the danger was suspected to be." He said determinedly. "Would you like to go inside first?"  
  
"Nay, I wish to stay outside for a while longer." Legolas replied. He was also worried about the twins but thought that the human should have more faith in them. Usually when Aragorn got a bad feeling they were right, unfortunately. _He just worries too much._ The elf thought. _Then again, with how much trouble they get into I cannot blame him._  
  
"As you wish. Please do not try to walk by yourself. I wish not for ada to yell at me for leaving you alone and then you making your leg worse." Aragorn said a bit sternly, but he was concerned about Legolas' health as well.  
  
"Fear not. I shall not try anything foolish." Legoals said, wishing he could move on his own, but he would keep his word. "Return with news."  
  
"I shall." With that Aragorn left heading to his father's study.  
  
"Stubborn human, worries too much for his own good." Legolas muttered under his breath. However, he couldn't shake his bad feeling about the twins as well.

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Well.... how was it? Was that expected? :) Hehehe.... I was goin' to do something and have it go into the sequel but then it just would not be fair to the people who do not like shounen-ai. :( Oh well, this way is better anywayz... well, sorta. I guess it depends on which way I look at it. But I'll shut up now since you peoples have no idea what I'm talkin' about. And if you do I must applaud you since I barely know. -=shiftes eyse=-  
  
Legolas was a lotta bit OOC but you can deal with it, right? Thought so. :)  
  
Anywayz.. I'll work on the next chapt later... after I watch some Cowboy Bebop and Trigun. Yay! :)   
  
**Plz Review!!**  
  
Ja ne


	16. Troube All Over Again

**Disclaimer**: Me no own...  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.  
  
Mmmmk... well, I tried to make it more detailed, sry, I'm not very good at that, which is bad but I can't help it. Hopefully it's better now.

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_Review Responses_  
  
**Celebrean** - Lmao! Just ignore the A/N. I think I was confusing myself. -=sweatdrop=- Hope ya enjoyed your chips. :D  
  
**Mornflower** - Yeah, it's back to it's usual pace. :) I hope you like this chapt as well.  
  
**galadriel evenstar** - Hey, I can actually spell your name now without having to double check to be sure... watch, it's wrong.... -.- Yes, he is recovering. :) I could never kill him off... well, not in this fic at least....  
  
**empath89** - Hehe... well, here ya go then. You get to see how they're doin'. Or do ya? -=grins=-  
  
**Enelya Aldarion** - Of course, there always has to be trouble. What kinda story would it be without it? Besides, someone was asking for twin angst... don't remember who though... I'm glad I'm actually makin' this story worth while. If you think my fic is long then.... well, there's a 60 chapt fic that I'm readin' and it's still goin'! :) Thx for all the compliments!  
  
Mmmmk... well, that's all for today.... or tonightish... dunno, it's 2:50am and I'm just startin'. I better hurry! Don't forget to review.

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**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Sixteen  
  
Trouble all over again**

* * *

Aragorn had just arrived at Elrond's study. He knocked on the door, having no idea what his father was doing he didn't want to just walk in.  
  
"Come in." A strained voice said from inside.  
  
The human opened the door and walked in to find his father sitting on a chair at his desk. When Aragorn first saw him he looked weary, but he quickly put a mask on that showed nothing.  
  
"What is it, ion nin?" Elrond questioned.  
  
"Why did Elrohir and Elladan leave?" Aragorn wasted no time and got right to the point.  
  
"I told you, there was danger at the borders that had to be checked."  
  
"Aye, however, you did not say what kind. Please tell me ada. They should have been back by now." Aragorn said, his voice clearly showing his concern for his brothers.  
  
Elrond sighed heavily, his mask slipping slightly. He should have known that was the reason for him being there. He knew that Aragorn wouldn't leave without an explanation either. "Orcs were seen in the area. I had hoped it was only a rumor." Elrond said sadly.  
  
"They should be back by now."   
  
"Iston. I am starting to get worried." The elder elf said looking at his hands.  
  
"I shall go look for them." Aragorn stated, intent on going after them.  
  
"Absolutely not. I do not wish to risk your health as well." Elrond said sternly. "You could run into danger along the way; there is only on of you but two of them. They have a better chance."  
  
"But--"  
  
"Nay, Estel." Elrond said, cutting him off. "Go back to Legolas. Help him recover, he needs you." As much as he wanted his sons back he wouldn't risk his other in the process.  
  
Aragorn sighed in defeat. "Fine, I shall go to Legolas but if they do not return shortly I **will** go after them." Before Elrond could protest he left to Legolas' room.  
  
Elrond put his head in his hands, having his elbows rest upon his desk, he tried to stop the headache that was quickly forming.

* * *

Elrohir screamed as one of the orcs broke his arm.  
  
"Elrohir!" Elladan shouted, trying harder to break free of the orcs' grasps. The rumors had been correct; there had been orcs by the border. A lot more than they had originally thought too.   
  
They had to fight the orcs that threatened their home and could not leave them there. Besides, the orcs had spotted them before they could even try to go back to their father to get reinforcements. They had been winning until some of the orcs had tripped Elladan and held him down. That had distracted Elrohir long enough to where the others could get him as well. Once they had Elrohir they decided to have a little "fun" with him. There weren't a lot of orcs left, both twins had fought for a long time and had been able to slay lots before being forced to stay still.  
  
_I have to get free so I can help him._ Elladan thought, determinedly. He hated seeing his brother be beaten. He struggled harder against the orcs.  
  
"Stop your squirming." One of the orcs commanded in the common tongue. To his surprise Elladan went limp. The elf closed his eyes and stopped moving all together.  
  
The orcs chuckled, thinking that the elf had lost consciousness due to exhaustion or blood loss. They loosened their hold on him and some even let go.   
  
After a moment Elladan quickly brought his arm forward, getting it free and punched the orc to get his other free. The orcs being surprised didn't put up much resistance against him and he easily broke away.  
  
Before they could recover Elladan reached for his sword, which was on the ground not far from him. He grasped the hilt and swung out in front of him while on his back from diving for the sword. He sliced an orc that was coming at him in the neck, quickly killing it.  
  
The elder twin ran towards the orcs, not wasting time and killed them.  
  
Minutes later most were dead; the only ones left were the ones holding Elrohir. They finally noticed this, before they were too preoccupied with the elf.  
  
Elladan started to advance. He stopped dead in his tracks, frightened, when one of the orcs stabbed Elrohir in the abdomen. The orcs ran after, knowing that the elder elf would surely kill them; they also wanted to regroup before attacking again.  
  
Elrohir immediately collapsed onto the ground, clutching his wound.   
  
Elladan ran the rest of the way to his twin. Dropping his sword, he knelt by him. "Elrohir! Elrohir! Open your eyes!" He shouted, seeing said elfs' eyes closed; pain could clearly be seen on his face.  
  
Elladan's horse had been slain at the start of the battle, but he didn't know what happened to Elrohir's. He whistled, hoping the horse would come to his call, he needed the supplies, and fast!  
  
To his great relief the horse came running not long after, seeing the coast was clear and her owner bleeding; unmoving on the ground.  
  
"Sûl, it is good to see you, mellon nin." He said while going to the horse and searching in Elrorhir's pack for the things needed.  
  
Once the supplies were in his hands he knelt back down next to his twin and started working. He frowned when he saw that the wound was still bleeding heavily so he put pressure on it first, trying to stop it. It eventually did; Elladan wrapped Elrohir's mid-section with a bandage. His worry had doubled since he first saw his brother stabbed. Elrohir had neither made a sound nor moved the entire time Elladan had tended to him. He had to check his pulse several times to make sure he was still alive. He was. However, his pulse was very erratic and quick.  
  
Elladan knew that he had to get Elrohir back to their father as soon as possible but it was a big risk to move him in his given state. He weighed his options, he could take the risk and ride to Elrond or he could find shelter. He decided on the second choice. Too much was at stake if he should move Elrohir too far. Besides, the horse's movements would be bad for the younger twin right away, no matter how careful the horse was.  
  
_I shall have to find shelter._ Elladan thought, his mind set. He desperately wish he wouldn't run into orcs again. There would be no way he'd be able to stand up against them again. He was exhausted and also wounded, though hardly, in comparison to Elrohir. They younger twin still had injuries that had to be treated, however, he couldn't tend to them where he was. The orcs were bound to come back to look for them, with more than they just had too. He had to quickly find shelter for the both of them.  
  
First, he had to find something to brace Elrohir's broken arm. He couldn't just leave it how it was.   
  
He looked around him, finding a strong branch that had fallen from a tree he set Elrohir's arm in place and put the branch on the side. He took some of the bandages and wrapped the branch securely against his arm. Once this was done he carefully picked his brother up, mindful of his injuries and started walking, with Sûl behind him. He desperately hoped to find shelter soon.  
  
After about half an hour Elladan finally came across a cave, though it was one of the last places he wanted to stay in he would have to endure it. Elrohir still hadn't stirred and it was scaring him. "You can make it, Muindor. Just hang on." He whispered to the still form in his arms.  
  
The elder twin gently laid the younger on the ground by the cave's entrance. He had to check inside to see if any creatures, namely orcs, occupied the cave.  
  
There were bushes on both sides of the entrance with blooming blue flowers. He had no time to check out the scenery outside of the cave though so he entered finding it to be almost pitch black even though the sun was shinning brightly. This definitely didn't help the situation. Elladan sighed, but was thankful when he found that there were no signs of anything being in there for months.  
  
The dark-haired elf walked back to the entrance, finding Elrohir in the same position that he left him, showing that he still hadn't moved. He frowned deeply and once again carefully picked up his brother. Bringing him inside he laid Elrohir back down and got to work on his other injuries. His own would just have to wait. Elrohir was more important, especially at the moment. He would always place his brother's life before his anyway.  
  
It was hard to see but Elladan wanted to find out how many injuries he could see before doing anything else. He found lots of cuts and bruises covering his brother's body. The orcs did a number on him. He clenched his fist in anger. However, he quickly pushed it aside and focused on the task at hand.  
  
What he could see was that Elrohir had a broken arm, a deep gash on his leg, as well as his shoulder, small cuts everywhere, and, of course the cut on his abdomen.  
  
Elladan hated to leave Elrohir for even a second but he didn't have much choice. He had to get some wood to make a fire for the herbs and so he could see better, in order to properly treat the wounds. _Should have carried some with me._ He thought back to when he had picked the branch up to make the splint. "I shall be right back." He whispered. He stood up and quickly ran out of the cave.  
  
Thankfully, there was some wood near the entrance under a tree so he didn't have to go too far. He grabbed some and hurried back to his brother. With the wood he could now make a fire for the needed herbs.  
  
Elladan then gathered the herbs needed and got them ready. Once they were he got to work again.  
  
The dark-haired elf unwrapped the bandage on Elrohir's stomache to place the herbs on it. He was disappointed to find that the wound had started bleeding again. He applied pressure again. When it had slowed enough he put the herbs on it and bound it, hoping it woudn't start bleeding again. Elrohir couldn't afford it. He wished his brother would show some sign of waking or even just move, however, he didn't get so much as a twitch.  
  
When he was finished treating all of Elrohir's wounds, he took care of his own. He had a lot less than his brother. The worst one that he had was a long cut on his chest, however, it wasn't deep at all and didn't cause him too much discomfort.  
  
Elladan looked up at Sûl to find her standing close to the entrance, watching for anything. He knew that she was keeping watch for him and that she would let him know if they were in danger.  
  
"Hannon le, mellon nin." Elladan thanked the faithful horse, grateful to have her with him. He desperately needed some rest. What good would it do either of them with he were to collapse from exhaustion? Elrohir's horse was allowing him to have the rest; he wouldn't waste time.  
  
Before laying down to sleep be put out the fire so it wouldn't attract anything dangerous. He also put away the bandages and remaining herbs. After that was done he laid down next to his brother. He put his hand on Elrohir's chest so he would know if any change would come during the night. It was also reassuring to him, letting him know that his twin was still alive. He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

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Sry, if it's not better than it was before. I'll keep working on descriptions. I promise. :)

Well, how was that? Should I not have done that and just left the main focus Legolas and Aragorn? Or should I have just done those scenes with the twins.. just better? -=shrugs=- Lemme know, though it doesn't really matter. I doubt I'll change it unless a lot of people tell me I should.   
  
Aren't ya happy that I got it out so quickly though? -=grins=- Anywayz... it's 3:55am and I think I'm gonna go.... in my room now. I doubt I'll be able to sleep.  
  
**Plz Review!!**  
  
Ja ne 


	17. Difficulties on the Way

**Disclaimer**: In my dreams I own plently. ;-)  
  
Woohoo! I reached 100 reviews! Thx to you guys I reached my goal! I never thought I would either. Gozilla hit the mark; you've reviwed throughout my whole fic too. Thank you all so much. -=grins=-  
  
I'm soooo sry everyone. My friend came over for like a week, and then I have a volleyball tournament thingie, ontop of practice. I've also been in a really big drawing mood, which I haven't been in one since, like.... forever.... Oh, and by the way, I do have some posted on (same sn as this one) and one my site (look at profile). That was prob'ly really pointless.... Oh, and I'll also be goin' on vacation next week, for like four days I think. My friend's also comin' over to my dad's with me so I won't be able to update a lot like I usually do when over there. Gomen... I don't mean to not write... wow, that was a weird sentence.....  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.

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_Review Responses_  
  
**boybeater3736** - ....interesting name..... Heh, well, I'm glad you're enjoying it... I hope you liked the rest as well... if ya ever read them. -=sweatdrop=- Umm.. sry, but no, this one won't have shounen-ai (slash, sry, habbit) in it... the sequel will though. -=grins=- I like shounen-ai too so there's no way I can pass up an opportunity for it... guess, I already did though.. on this fic, which is my only fic without it. Anywayz... I'll stop rambling... Oh, and 'Ja ne' means see ya in japanese.... also another habbit.  
  
**galadriel evenstar** - lol.. I think it was actually you who wanted it, wasn't it? lol.. where there ya go... more twin angst to come too... I think....  
  
**Gozilla** - Of course ya can. Legolas and Aragorn are the main focus in this fic.. just wanted to get some twins for some reason.....  
  
**NEO** - -=slowly back away=- -=from a safe distance starts to speak=- Ooookay then... well, there is goin' to be more Legolas and Aragorn suffering so don't worry about it.  
  
**Lady of the Twlight Woods** - Did you put the spaces or whatever in your name cuz I swear it was all one word before.... but anywayz... that's really not important. I'm glad ya liked it, though I did change the details a bit cuz it really needed to be.  
  
**Enelya Aldarion** - True true... though I don't really know what I'm doin' with the twins. I've only read up to The Two Towers and am not even done with that yet. I'm only goin' by what other authors do. -=sweatdrop=- I'm glad ya think it's right though. That's always a good thing. I think they were mentioned in the books that I've read but I don't really remember since I read the first one a long time ago and.. .yeah. But anywayz.. thx for the comments. -=grins=- I appreciate them.  
  
**empath89** - I'm glad ya feel that way. I pleased someone.... -=grins=-  
  
**Celebrean** - Oh, well, glad ya think that. It looked like you typed perfectly fine to me....  
  
**FireOpal** - Yay! I never get that great of sleep though. Go to bed at like 5am every night. O.o It's good fun though. I don't really like the day that much anywayz. -=grins=- Yes, of course, you may suggest anything that you think will improve my writting skills.. or lack of... I tried to go back through and fix the detail.. don't really think I did that great of job.. but, I tried. :) I promise I'll try harder on it. I've always had a problem with that.  
  
Okay, so above all this ish is what has been goin' on lately and what will be for those of you who may have skipped all that. Not really that important.. but.. yeah. Anwayz.. thx for all the reviews once again and plz leave some on this chapt as well. :)  
  
By the way, sry if there are more mistakes than usual... I'm talkin' to two people on yahoo.... it's takin' forever to type this up cuz of it too. -.-

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**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Seventeen  
  
Difficulties on the Way**

* * *

Aragorn had came back to the balcony, where Legolas was sitting and told the elf about Elrohir and Elladan. The ranger had been quiet ever since. Legolas could cleary see that he was thinking hard about something, but whenever he asked, Aragorn would just shrug it off, saying it was nothing.  
  
Night had fallen and the twins still hadn't returned. Aragorn had started fidgeting as his worry grew with each passing minute.  
  
Aragorn had styed by the elf's side once more. However, late into the night Legolas heard the human get up and leave, telling his injured friend to get well. After seeing the ranger leave Legolas painfully got up, changed quickly but with difficulties. He was expecting to leave with Aragorn.  
  
Legolas went to the stables, knowing that would be where Aragorn had gone.  
  
"Estel, where are you going?" A tired voice questioned. He was right, Aragorn had been at the stables. He found him preparing his black horse, Lor, to leave.  
  
Aragorn jumped and turned around to find the blonde elf leaning against a wall; pain could be seen in his eyes. "Legolas! What are you doing walking around? You should be resting!"  
  
"Do not change the subject. You are going to find your brothers, are you not?" Legolas voiced his suspicions.  
  
Aragorn ignored the elf's questions, continuing to prepare his horse. He had hoped to leave unnoticed, especially by Legolas. He knew the elf wouldn't let him leave and if he did he would more than likely force Aragorn into letting him come or follow. None of which would be good.  
  
"Go back to your room and rest, mellon nin." The human commanded softly, treating Legolas like an elfling.  
  
"Only if you came with me." The elf stated, sternly. He watched as Aragorn strapped his bad onto his horse, tightening it tight enough so the item wouldn't fall but not too tight to where it would hurt the horse.  
  
Seeing that Aragorn wasn't going to be convinced into staying, Legolas hopped onto his own horse. The move sent agony through his leg but he ignored it and kept his face calm, in case Aragorn looked over.  
  
Aragorn frowed at his friend. "You cannot go with me. Go back to bed."  
  
"Mellon nin, you should know me well enough to know that I am going with you, whether you wish it or not." Legolas said determinedly. Either Aragorn was staying or he was going with the human.  
  
_I know he shall follow me even if I do not want him to._ He thought. _But he shall slow me down if I let him. Also if he follows, he could run into danger along the way and get even more hurt_. The human though, confusing his thoughts. He definitely didn't want the elf to go with him, he wanted to ride hard and wth the injured elf it would be harder. However, Legolas would go regardless. Aragorn jumped onto his horse, decision made and he was none too pleased with it. Without any words he urged his horse forward, leading him out of his stall; thinking, _Stubborn elf._  
  
Leoglas stared at the human. _He must be really worried about his brothers._ Usually the human would argue a lot more before giving in to Legolas' demands. The ranger needed to rush to his brothers' sides.  
  
Taking Aragorn's silence as sa sign that he would no longer argue with him about going along, Legoals had his own snow-white horse follow. He knew that he would more than likely hinder Aragorn's progress in finding the twins but he didn't want to leave Aragorn by himself, there were far too many orcs now. He wouldn't be of much help but he'd try. He was sure he'd be able to do something.  
  
They both headed out into the darkness of the night. Everything was shrouded in black, except for the few things that shimmered with the faint light that the crescent moon gave off.

* * *

Elladan had woken up to a quiet snicker. He had been alert to the sound since its owner was their only means of protection while the two elves slept.  
  
The elder elf looked over at the gray mare with white splotches. He noticed that she looked distressed. "What is it, Sûl?" The elf was instantely on alert, expecting orcs.  
  
The horse turned towards his brother and he looked over at him, scared. He had felt no change in Elrohir's condition while sleeping so what could be wrong?  
  
Looking at Elrohir he could see that he looked a lot more pale than before and his breathing was more shallow. _I must have been more exhausted than I thought._ Elladan thought, surprised that he hadn't noticed the change in his twin's condition. He checked the younger twin's pulse and found it also more weak than it had been.  
  
The elder twin quickly started the fire again so he could see Elrohir more clearly. It was starting to get light out but it still wasn't bright enough for him to see clearly without the fire.  
  
Once it was started he went next to his twin for further investigation. He frowned at what he saw. He couldn't figure out why this change had overcome his brother, the wound hadn't reopened or anything.  
  
_Maybe he lost too must blood._ He thought confused. _I know it was not poisoned, I thoroughly checked._  
  
The dark-haired elf looked at the bandages and did find some blood on it, but what did he expect? Of course there was going to be blood on it.  
  
Elladan put the needed herbs onto the wound and re-bandaged it, hoping that it would help his younger brother.  
  
The elf looked at his twin again and then walked to the entrance of the cave. He saw that the sun was just beginning to rise. He breathed in deeply, relishing in the refreshing air. The cave's air was really stuffy and he felt trapped in it. He shook his head. _I have to focus on Elrohir._ He reminded himself and decided that it would be time for them to leave again. Elladan wanted to get Elrohir back to their father as quickly as he could.  
  
Elladan had hoped that Elrohir would have woken up by now. He wanted to see the full extent of his injuries. He knew the majority of them but you could never be too sure, especially since the orcs had beaten him up pretty badly. Besides, his twin's comatose-like state was scaring him. He still hadn't moved.  
  
Elladan sighed heavily and carefully picked Elrohir up, mindful of his broken arm and other injuries that the orcs had placed upon him.

* * *

Legolas was far behind Aragorn, his leg sending shoots of agony throughout his body. He said nothing though, knowing how much Aragorn wanted to find his brothers.  
  
The blonde elf couldn't control his breathing, which was erratic but he was able to stifle his cries of pain. It would bring Aragorn's attention to him and he didn't want that. He had insisted on going along so he would deal with it.  
  
Legolas struggled onward, trying to ignore the pain.  
  
After an hour he could no longer bear it and nearly fell off his horse, Mîr. He would have fallen if the white horse hadn't shifted his weight to catch him.  
  
Aragorn heard Legolas' horse snicker in distress and quickly turned around. He found the blonde elf tightly clutching Mîr's mane, his face pale and drawn tight with pain, and he was breathing heavily.  
  
The human mentally slapped himself. Legolas was still injured and in serious pain! How could he have forgotten?  
  
Aragorn quickly went up next to Legolas and just in time, for the elf could no longer handle the agony and fell into the painless darkness.   
  
The ranger caught him as he was falling. The white horse could no longer balance the unconscious elf when he started falling to the side.  
  
_I should have been paying attention. Then this would have never happened._ He thought dispairingly. _Now it is going to take longer for us to reach Elladan and Elrohir. And Legolas is even more exhausted since I gave him no rest._ The ranger blamed himself.  
  
Aragorn sighed heavily. "This just is not my day. Or even month for that matter." He muttered thinking about all of the recent events.

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There. Finally done. :) Okay, well, like I said at the beginning I'll try and post all I can at my dad's but it definitely won't be as much as it usually is. So... I'll prob'ly see all of you after the..... 15ish. I'm so sry that I haven't been updating as much. I still feel like drawing.... hmmm... it's 2:10am maybe I'll draw a pic.....  
  
Plz Review!!  
  
Ja ne


	18. Battle Site

**Disclaimer**: Me no own...  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.   
  
So sry everyone. Another long wait. I just haven't really been in much of a writting mood lately... well, that and volleyball takes up a lot of my time. Four days a week! And then my friend comes over a lot. -=sighs=- I'll try harder to update more often.

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_Review Responses_  
  
**Lady of the Twilight** - Sry it took so long. Hmmm... I coulda sworn that there was no spaces. Oh well, me goin' crazy... not like that's anything new....  
  
**me** - You reviewed three times.. none of which for the 17th chapt, but I'll respond nonetheless. I'm glad ya didn't expect me to do that with the twins... I woulda been way too predictable if you did. Umm... I think the other fic that they were readin' is Nightmares and Sickness, a fic with shounen-ai, like the rest of mine. This is the only one without it... -.- I'm not too fond of that one though.... I'm glad that you're enjoying my fic and I hope you still are. -=grins=- Thx for the reviews.  
  
**Enelya Aldarion** - Yeah, I have them posted already and did have the URL up but I forgot to put the spaces in it so it would show up. They're on my site (check pro) and on _**h t t p : n i g h t s h a d o w 131 . d e v i a n t a r t . c o m**_ They're all of anime and manga pics. Yeah, Legolas is too stubborn for his own good. -=nods=- He has all the luck in most of the LOTR fics. :) Of course Elrond isn't goin' to be too happy. They all just left without saying anything! Crazy peoples. -=grins=-  
  
**Mornflower** - Thx! Yeah, even I feel sry for everyone apart of my fic.... -.- ...kinda odd. Sry, it took so long. Guess it doesn't really matter that you weren't home on 15th. I mean, it's the 24 already. Where'd ya go? If ya don't mind me asking.  
  
**Deana** - Poor Legolas indeed. He only suffers more and more. Hmmm.... more Legoals torture in your fic too, huh? Gotta love that. -=grins=- Really can't wait for your next update! :)  
  
Hmmm.... less so than usual. -=sighs=- Oh well... at least I'm still gettin' them. I'll try and write more for this fic this weekend, but I still have to write for my IY fic before this one so I don't know if that'll happen. Gomen. I should work on it now..... well, gotta type this up first... and watch my shows. :) I will work on it later though... I promise. And I'll get it out as soon as I can.

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**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Eighteen  
  
Battle Site**

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When Elrond woke up his first sight was of the sun shinning through his cream certains; the breeze moving it back and forth. This signified a day with perfect weather.  
  
Despite this good sign Elrond knew something wasn't right and had a very bad feeling. Immediately his thoughts turned to his patient and song.  
  
The elf-lord jumped out of his bed and ran through the halls; not caring that he was still in his night clothing. Ignoring all the looks he got he went straight for the Halls of Healing. All the while hoping that his feeling was wrong for once.  
  
"My lord..." A young maiden said, when he had accidently bumped into her in his haste. She was surprised to say the least. It wasn't very often that the lord of Imladris was seen running through the halls, much less running into people.  
  
Elrond, with how concerned he was, didn't utter a word to the elf maiden and kept going towards the room that Legolas and Estel occupied.  
  
He finally reached the doors and stopped before them, composing himself first, just in case Legolas and Estel were still there.   
  
Elrond took a deep breath, praying that they were inside, and pushed open the door. Walking in he noticed two people.  
  
"My lord..."  
  
"Have you seen my son or Prince Legolas?" Elrond questioned, worry etched in his voice.  
  
"Nay, my lord. It has only been my patient and I all morning." Answered the dark-haired healer. His patient only looked up at the two with pain-filled eyes. It looked as though he had somehow broken his leg.  
  
Elrond quickly focused his thoughts back to the missing elf and human. He went over to the door, keeping his calm appearance while in the presence of the two that occupied the room.  
  
"Would you like me to help you search, my lord?" The healer asked. His patient looking at him in disbelief. What, was he just going to leave him?  
  
"Nay, continue your good work." He replied, opening and closing the door behind him. He resumed his search, running in the halls once again to Estel's room. Why he bothered to keep his composure calm in front of the healer and patient and then run in the halls was a mystery to him. But he thought nothing of it.  
  
Elrond had looked in both Estel and Legolas' rooms to find that they were indeed missing. He also checked the twins' room just in case, still not finding them and not really expecting to after looking in the healing room. He knew Estel must have gone to find his brothers and Legolas had followed. He doubted that Estel would allow his friend to go along with him willingly.  
  
The elf-lord was none too pleased. Estel and Legolas would be getting a long lecture from him indeed; they definitely would not be happy afterwards.   
  
_Why must they always do this? As if I was not worried enough with the twins missing._ He sighed. _And with Legolas just recovering from poison no less!_

__

* * *

Elladan was so thirsty that he had to get something to drink. Besides, he needed a break, carrying the unconscious Elrohir wasn't the easiest thing to do.  
  
His elven ears heard the sound of rushing water, surely a river, nearby so headed towards it. He kept his sharp hearing alert for any other noises that could be dangerous to the three. So far they hadn't ran into anything, luckily. He desperately hoped it would stay that way too.   
  
The elder elf finally reached the river. The sun, which was high in the sky now, played ontop of the water causing it to glitter. Trees surrounded either side; swaying slighly with the breeze.  
  
Elladan approached the river and gently laid Elrohir down next to him on the grass. Going next to the rivers edge he scooped his hand through the water and caught some of it. Bringing his hands to his face he allowed the water to slid down his throat. The cool, refreshing taste was just what he needed.  
  
He looked to his left side and saw Sûl bending her neck over and drinking the water as well. The sight made him smile.  
  
It would have made things a lot easier if he hadn't used up all the water that he or rather Elrohir had brought along since it was his supplies that he was using, his own being lost with his horse. He had needed some when tending to Elrohir's wounds and he had also drank it along the way, when he could.  
  
Elladan's smile had faded when he thought about his still unconscious twin. He needed to press on.

* * *

"Please Legolas. I know that Mîr is capable of keeping you on her back but you--"  
  
"I am fully capable of riding on my own, thank you." Argued the injured prince. Once he had regained his consciousness and recovered enough, he argued with Aragorn. The human thought that Legolas should ride with him. Riding his own horse caused shooting pain through his leg, but he would never admit it. To ride with Aragorn would show weakness and damage his pride even more. Like he hadn't been doing enough of that lately!  
  
"I do not wish to continue arguing. We need to press on and ffind my brothers." All their bickering was accomplishing was delaying their search. While Legolas had been out Aragorn had put the elf on his own horse and ridden with him. Once the elf had stirred he carefully placed Legolas onto the ground and now he wanted to ride on his own! At least that hadn't wasted anytime... or not a lot anyway. It was far too soon for the elf to be riding on his own.  
  
"Then let me ride on my own." Without hearing what else the ranger had to say, Legolas jumped onto his own horse, like he had before they began their little search party. His world tilted and black dots played in his vision. He hissed in pain and quickly closed his eyes. He was too weak from the last time he was unconscious and couldn't help but show his pain.  
  
Aragorn gave a heavy sigh, knowing this would happen. _You would think he would have learned last time._ Even though Legolas had kept his face calm the last time he had jumped onto his horse, Aragorn knew that the elf had felt a lot of pain. The wound that had been poisoned had been on his leg! How could it not hurt?  
  
"Legolas, get down before I bring you down myself." Aragorn commanded, treating himlike an elfling again, which the human though Legolas was acting like. He didn't have much of a choice. Legolas definitely couldn't ride on his own. He shouldn't have ridden by himself before or even came along for that matter.  
  
"You would not!" Legolas gasped out, clearly still in pain.  
  
The human went to the side of both Legolas and his horse and started to pull on Legolas' injured leg, to show his seriousness.   
  
Although Aragorn hadn't meant to hurt his friend, the pulling had put pressure against his other leg and Legoals gasped in pain. "I am sorry, mellon nin, butyou must ride with me."  
  
Seeing that Aragorn was anything but messing around, Legolas decided that he would let the human have his way. However, this was only because he didn't want Aragorn to get him down himself, it would only cause more pain.  
  
The blonde elf started to get off but saw that Aragorn had gone to his side as if he were going to help him. _That is **not** going to happen!_ "Do not even try to help me." The elf said in a tone that left no room for argument.   
  
Aragorn backed off, not wanting to push his luck. He'd gotten Legolas to ride with him, which must have been hard for the elf to let him do.   
  
Legoals got off his horse gracefully, Mîr gave him a weird look, wondering what was going on. Petting his horse on the nose and whispering a few words in elvish to her he went to Aragorn's horse. Ignoring his pain, he got on; without a word to the human, not pleased with the arrangment.  
  
Aragorn sigehd and got on behind Leoglas. They resumed their search with Legolas' horse right behind them. He could deal with the fact that Legolas was mad at him. Having the elf ride with him was much better for his health and they were on their way to his brothers again. He couldn't argue wiht that. Their delay had been long though, hopefully not too long.  
  
They had been riding for about an hour now and Aragorn could feel how tense the elf in front of him had become, no doubt from the pain his leg shot through his leg from the horse's movements. He felt bad for Legolas but there really was nothing he could do about it. He really did not want to stop again anytime soon. "Legolas..."  
  
"I am fine." Legolas answered, shortly, knowing what he was going to ask. He still wasn't very happy with the human.  
  
"Look, I will not say I am sorry, for this is the best option we have." Aragorn said, knowing his words were true.  
  
Legolas sighed and winced. Lor had nearly tripped over something, not seeing it and in order to avoid it, she had to move quickly.   
  
"What is that? Is it...." Legolas trailed off, looking at the item that had nearly tripped the horse. It was of dark brown material and looked to be of elvish make. _That cannot be good._  
  
Aragorn brought his gaze down to look at what Legolas was talking about. He gasped. It was Elladan's bag! Surely not a good sign.  
  
The ranger jumped off his horse and went to the bag, seeing if it really was what he thought. Upon inspecting it he found that it was. "He would never discard this so carelessly. They must have really ran into trouble." Aragorn said, worry growing even more. His brother's bag held things that he would surely need while out there. The human picked it up and got back on his horse, wanting to find his brothers even faster than before. "We must continue."  
  
Not far from where they had been they came upon a site that was definitely where a battle had been. They found Elladan's horse on the ground, blood covering his white coat, that was now crimson and brown from dirt. Both Legolas and Aragorn couldn't help but panic at the sight.  
  
_Please, let them not be dead!_ Aragorn prayed for his brothers' safety.

* * *

Crap, crap, crap. I'm really not liking my fics lately. I dunno what's wrong with me... well, there's plently of things but I dunno why I don't like my chapts lately. -=sighs=- I hope you guys are still enjoying this. And hopefully the next chapt will be better and out in only a few days! It's actually the 25th now (it was the 24th when I started this...) so.... 16 days! O.o That's **way **too long. It's volleyball I tell ya... okay, maybe not, but that is the main reason. I'm just repeating myself now. Just tell me to shut up.  
  
**Plz Review!!!**  
  
Ja ne  
  
I need to draw....

Oh, btw, I **really** cannot type today so there are prob'ly more mistakes than usual. Another thing to be sry about....


	19. What's with all the orcs!

**Disclaimer**: Me no own...  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.  
  
Eesh.. I haven't written since volleyball ended. It already started up again for the season. -=sighs=- Sry I've been sick for like a week, if not more. And volleyball is twice a day; I've been sleepin' when I get home.. gettin' like 4 hrs of sleep and then bein' sick doesn't help. Haven't really been in that great of a mood and not in a writting mood. School's also goin' to be startin' soon... hisses Don't make me go!!! The year has already started off horribly. -=sighs=- Just make me shut up....

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_Review Responses_  
  
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**empath89** - np.. just glad you're enjoying the story.. reviews are always encouraging though... -=sweatdrop=- That doesn't happen _too_ often... and they are just typos. Sry....  
  
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5!! Haha... I win! Thx for your reviews! And thx for bein' patient.. I hope you are anywayz. I know by now I woulda been mad.. or somethin' along those lines or wait a _month_! Gah! I'm so pathetic. Well, at least I'm updating, right? -=sighs=- Prob'ly not.

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**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Nineteen  
  
What's with all the orcs?!**

* * *

"We must find them quickly." Aragorn stated the obvious, with concern and fear.  
  
"Well, by looking at the footprints it looks as though they went this way." Legolas crouched down, brushing his fingers lightly across the prints, inspecting them. "One of them is being carried!" He realized, fear rising, for one of them to carry the other meant he was seriously wounded.  
  
"Let us go." Aragorn commanded sternly.  
  
This time Legolas put up no arguments to the arrangement. All that mattered was finding the twins, hopefully, in a conscious state.  
  
With a last saddend glance at Elladan's horse, they left. _He served Elladan well_. Aragorn thought, about the horse. _It is a shame his life had to come to an end_. _I hope it was at least swift_. The horse had been with Elladan as long as Aragorn could remember. It surely broke Elladan's heart to have his loyal horse die, and at the hands of orcs.  
  
"Estel." A sad and strained voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "They went that way."  
  
Aragorn was so deep in his thoughts that he wasn't even paying attention to where he was going. If not for Legolas he wouldn't have realized his mistake for a while. What a grave mistake that could turn out to be too.  
  
About ten minutes later they came across a cave... the tracks headed right into it.  
  
"They went in there?" Legolas questioned in disbeif. By the footprints they definitely went in there, but for an elf to enter a cave.... well, it was used as a last resort. To say the least, elves did not like caves. The endless darkness, the suffocating air, the cramped space, dark, seemingly endless tunnels... everything about it. An elf could, and sometimes did, go insane when stuck in a cave. Legolas shuddered just thinking about it.  
  
Aragorn felt Legolas shudder, since he was still in front of him, and tightened his hold for comfort. He was adopted into a family of elves and knew how much they feared caves. "I shall go in and look. You stay here. You should not be moving around." He added as an afterthought.  
  
"Nay, I shall go with. You cannot stop me." Legolas said, grateful that his voice came out smooth and strong, not weak like he had thought it would be - like he felt.  
  
Aragorn, not wanting to start **another** argument, decided to let it drop and dismounted his horse. Then he headed towards the cave's entrance.  
  
Soon after Aragorn had dismounted, Legolas followed. Swaying slightly at the pain that he was constantly trying to ignore. Once again, he pushed it aside, going after Aragorn. However, he kept his pace normal, if not slightly faster, knowing that the human was deliberately going slower so he could catch up without over-exterting himself again.  
  
Once in, they noticed traces of a fire. They wouldn't have noticed it if they hadn't been looking **very** closely for any sign that they had been here. They could tell that which ever twin covered their tracks did it in haste.  
  
"Look here." Legolas shouted from the other side of the cave. He had pushed away his fear, deciding the twins were **a lot** more important.  
  
"What is it? Did you find something?" The ranger said, going over to join his friend, who was crouched down looking at something on the cave's floor.  
  
"Aye, this is blood. Elvish blood." The prince said, worry shown in his voice. "Most likely belonging to Elladan or Elrohir."  
  
Aragorn got up, without a word, and continued searching the cave. "They were picked up again, seeing that the blood is only there." After a pause he motioned for the elf to follow him out of the cave.  
  
Legolas nodded, and solemnly followed the human out. _Thank the Valar they did not go further into the cave!_ He didn't know how much longer he could hide his fear before his mask broke. It had even been getting darker and darker in thet cave, which did nothing to help him.  
  
They reached outside of the cave and saw that night had fallen. Stars shown brightly in the sky; some hidden by the vast amount of trees.  
  
Legolas took a deep breath, taking a moment to enjoy the fresh air.  
  
"Mellon nin..." Aragorn said to get the archer's attention. He knew how relieved he was to be out of the suffocating cave, but they needed to press on. They already wasted enough time.  
  
With a heavy sigh Legolas made his way over to Aragorn and mounted Lor again. With Mîr closely following them, they continued, keeping a keen eye for any details that would help them find Elladan and Elrohir.

* * *

Elladan stopped suddenly hearing heavy footsteps and the foul language of the orcs.  
  
_Nay, I cannot fight them alone_. The elder twin thought about his options - he didn't have many. He could risk the fight, but he very much doubted he could fight all of them and come out alive. He would also have to protect Elrohir. He could hid, but where would Sûl go? She was a lot harder to hide, the bushes aroudn them not being tall enough. That left him with one last option. One he did not wish to risk but had no choice. Ride Sûl. This was definitely going to endanger Elrohir's health even more, but what else was there to do?  
  
Elladan mounted Sûl with difficultly, seeing as he had to bring Elrohir up at the same time, while staying balanced and being careful about it. Luckily, Sûl made it easier for him. He urged the horse forward, he knew that she would do everything to avoid causing her master more pain, if possible.  
  
Now, he hoped Elrohir did not wake... while they were riding at least. It would only hurt him and he couldn't stop since they were running from the orcs. Hopefully, they didn't hear them or wouldn't see them.

* * *

Legolas and Aragorn had followed the tracks to a river. They did not stop there, though, there was no need. Both could tell the twins only stopped for a short drink adn then went on their way. By the looks of it even Sûl had some water, for there were hoof marks at the edge of the river.  
  
_At least they have one horse with them_. Aragorn thought trying to lessen his worry. This did help some, surprisingly. Having the horse meant that they would have at least one bag of supplies, and also a means of travel. Although, they were still walking, with one carrying the other. This puzzled the human. Why would they not use Sûl? The trip would surely be faster if they did. He let it go, however. There was no way he'd be able to find out unless he asked his brothers himself. If only he could get to them!  
  
An hour later and Aragorn commanded Lor to a halt.  
  
"What is it, mellon nin?" Legolas asked. He had been trying to pay attention but the pain in his still healing wound was finally getting to him because of all the riding and with how hard they were riding.  
  
Aragorn, who knew of this, pointed ahead of them to the footprints or rather hoof prints. "They are now riding Sûl" The ranger explained. "I wonder why..." He thought aloud.  
  
"I am sure we shall find out when we get closer to them." Legolas said confidently. Both feared what it meant though. There was obviously a reason for walking. What caused them to rush so? Only another question to add to the already big pile. Also another reason to rush, despite Leoglas' injury. Aragorn hated to do it, but he couldn't help it. And the blonde elf did come along, knowing the consequences.  
  
Aragorn sighed and lead Lor forward again.

* * *

Elladan felt Elrohir shift slightly in his arms.  
  
"Nay, not now." The elder twin muttered. A weak moan and another movement was his reply.  
  
_Of all fo the times for him to wake_.... He was thrilled that his younger brother was finally waking but at a time like this.... he wished he could have waited longer, as bad of a thought that is. "Now what am I to do?" He quietly asked himself.  
  
Elladan slowed Sûl down so the ride wasn't so rough. It would have to do for now. He really did not want to stop, the orcs would surely catch up if he did. And he could not fight thtem alone.  
  
"Elladan?" A weak and pain-filled voice questioned.  
  
"Aye, it is I." The elder elf answered, torn by the sound of his brother's voice. He wanted nothing more than to be able to stop and help him, however, the orcs would never allow it. What could he do? _Why does there seem to be so many orcs after us?!_ __  
The elf in his arms groaned loudly, showing that he was still in a lot of pain.  
  
He had to stop. There was no other choice. Elrohir was in too much pain, and riding would only make it so much worse. Maybe he could find a spot to hide. He'd have to.  
  
"Hold on, Gwanunig nin." He whispered to the elf. Then with a heavy sigh he started off at a slow pace to find somewhere to hide from the orcs. They were still pretty far behind so he did have some time... hopefully enough.

* * *

Mmmhmm... that's how it is. Short. Blahness. Crappish. Oh, and btw, sry if there are more mistakes than usual. It's 2:50am and while I'm usually up at this time sickness sucks and I should be sleeping. Also my eyes are goin' blurry-like on me so.. sry again. -=sighs=- I sure do say that a lot. oh well... I will try to get the next out soon, but no guarantees.. as usual. Still have to update my IY fic too. So.. yeah.  
  
_**PLZ REVIEW!!**_  
  
Ja ne


	20. Not a Pretty Sight

**Disclaimer**: I own Legolas!!! Gah! Don't hurt me.... Okay, okay.. I don't own anything to do with LOTR.... sheesh.

Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.

Omg! It's a miracle! Only.... about 5 days since the last update. A lot sooner than usual... now. n.n Hope you guys enjoy this!

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_Review Responses_

**SirNotAppearingInThisFilm** - Heh.. it's alright. You still reviewed, right? n.n Happy to have you read my fic. n.n;;

**InsanePirate642** - thx so much! Glad ya think that. n.n It's too bad we haven't really talked other than that one time. You ever get on anymore? Well, thx for the review! n.n

**Lady of the Twilight Woods** - thx.... n.n Don't yet, though... -.-

**HarryEstel **- Lol.. of course I did.. you'll like this ending too... well, it's not really that bad...

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Thx for the reviews everyone! Plz keep them comin'! Hope you all enjoy this chapt.. dunno how much I like it... All's I know is that I can't find a good song... -.- Btw, pretend that Elladan put his sword and bow on Sûl, since I kinda forgot to mention that detail... -.-;; Hehe... oops...

* * *

**If it's not one thing, it's another**

**Chapter Twenty**

**Not a Pretty Sight**

* * *

Elladan was exhausted and gald to be stopping, even if the orcs were after them. He was happy to stop.. not only for him but for his twin as well.

The elder twin actually did find a secluded area for them to hide. There were trees surrounding them with some thick bushes. He decided to take the supplies from Sûl and sent the horse ahead to Imladris. Maybe she could even come back with some help. He just knew that there would be no way she'd be able to hide. Running was her only option. Elladan didn't wish to risk another horse's life, if possible. It still pained him greatly to know that his own horse was slain in their first battle against the orcs. The same ones who hurt his twin so badly. However, he had no time to grieve.

Elladan was currently bent over Elrohir looking at the re-opened wound on his abdomen. He cursed their luck. As if Elrohir weren't already in a bad condition; he had to lose even more blood, too!

As Elladan pressed his hand on the wound to stop the bleeding, he felt Elrohir tense under the pain. His gasps occasionally slipping.

Once the bleeding was almost stopped, Elladan looked in the bag for some bandages. _We are running low._ He realized.

With a heavy sigh he pulled some out and started wrapping Elrohir's wound carefully; trying not to further injure him.

Fortunately, the make-shift cast for the younger twin's broken arm still held so he didn't have to fix it. He could spare him the pain of that at least.

He looked at his twin's face when he heard a moan. He saw how tense his face was, drawn tight in pain. He felt horrible for his twin and wished he could help more.

Elladan listened for the orcs and sighed in relief when he found that they were still far from them.

* * *

"I think we are getting close." Aragorn's excited voice broke Legolas from his thoughts. The human behind him was looking down at the tracks. "The tracks stopped and then they continued slowly." He explained to the pained elf. "They must have stopped to rest somewhere." He hoped.

Legolas nodded, still trying to ignore the throbbing in his leg. For the past few hours they had been riding hard, without a break and it was taking a toll on his body, namely his leg.

Aragorn looked down at Legolas' head, not able to see his face since he was in front of him still. He felt bad for the elf, who he knew was in a lot of pain. He wished he could him him, but they could not stop, especially when they were so close. "You should have stayed and waited for us to return." He said, trying not to sound sympathetic, knowing how much Legolas hated it.

"I am fine." Legolas said through clenched teeth, trying not to gasp in pain; showing just how 'fine' he really was.

Aragorn sighed, not saying anything.

The silence was broken about half an hour later. "Do you hear that?" Legolas questioned looking around. He had been trying to focus his attention on their surroudings instead of thinking about the pain. It did help.. for the most part.

Aragorn listened for a good minute; hearing nothing. "Hear what?" He figured Legolas must have heard something theat he couldn't. After all, he was human and Legolas an elf.

The archer was quiet for a long time, almost to the point where Aragorn was going to repeat his question. "There are orcs up ahead and going the other way, same way as us." He finally answered in a whisper.

Aragorn started to panic. "Is this why Elladan and Elrohir decided to ride Sûl? To get away from the orcs?"

"That is my guess." Legolas shrugged.

"Why did they slow down then?" The human asked, even more confused.

The blonde elf didn't respond, not having the answer, and continued to listen to their surroundings. He winced when Aragorn sped up the horse again in fear of his brothers' lives. This time both were more cautious, watching and listening to everything.

* * *

Elladan hid his twin as best as he could in case the orcs were to find them. Then they'd only see him.. hopefully. Well, he really didn't want them to find him either. He'd have no chance if they did.

The heavy footsteps became louder and louder, signifying how close they were becoming.

He prayed to the Valar that they would not find them.

Elrohir was still conscious, though not in a state where he could tell what was going on. Both good and bad. He occasionally made a noise, mostly from pain, not knowing the orcs were by them. He didn't know that he could be giving away their hiding place. Elladan did his best to comfort his twin and calm him down.

The elder twin thought about going up in the trees; resting in their protective branches. However, he didn't think he'd be able to get Elrohir up there in his state. Besides, he didn't want to re-open the wound again and he most certainly would not leave his twin alone!

He jerked his head up whenhe heard a snap of a branch and heavy footsteps come towards them; then leave.

_Did he see us?_ He thought with worry and fear. Figuring it was an orc that scouted ahead, probably sent by a command from their leader.

Elladan heard some loud voices start to come towards them. He swore under his breath. _Better get ready for a fight._ He thought getting his bow rady and setting his sword next to him.

He stood up and notched an arrow, aiming it towards the area the orcs were coming from. He would have to stay by Elrohir, even thought it would be dangerous. It was the only way he was able to protect him. They would surely find him even if he did hide him somewhere.

Elladan shot arrows at the orcs. Some of them were starting to come his way already and there was no way they'd pass by them. The scout must have gone back and them of his discovery.

Soon after the shots were fired the orcs rushed towards them.

His enemies were too close now so Elladan abandoned his bow and picked up his sword. Orcs were swarming around him; **way** too much for him to handle by himself.

The elder twin was soon over-powered and pushed to the ground on his stomache with a blade to his neck. The orc on his slowly, but forcefully pushed the blade to his throat; causing some blood to slide down his neck.

Elladan looked over to his side, with his eyes, to see Elrohir. Orcs were starting to hurt him, even though he put up little resistance.

"No! Stop!" The elder twin shouted and tried to push himself up in order to help his brother. It only made the orc on him put more weight onto his back and push the blade harder against his throat.

Elladan screamed as it went farther into his skin.

Just as he was losing consciousness he heard someone shout his name and felt the weight on his back leave.

* * *

Legolas and Aragorn had been riding for an hour or so, still going the same fast pace that strained the elf, but he wasn't complaining.

"There is a battle up ahead." Legolas stated worriedly.

They were close enough to where the human could hear it too. _Please, do not be Elrohir and Elladan!_ They knew that one of them were injured and the one not wounded probably woudn't stand much of a chance.

"Oh Valar!" Legolas whispered when he saw the sight before them. Elladan and Elrohir both on the ground; orcs surrounding them. "Hurry, Estel!"

Aragorn didn't like the tone in Legolas' voice at all and had Lor go as fast as she could. Obviously, Legolas didn't care about his leg, for he was the one wishing for them to go faster. Not a good sign at all. He wished he had elven sight!

Upon seeing the sight for himself he understood the elf's urgency. He stared in horror, wishing he couldn't see what was ahead of them.

"Elladan! Elrohir!" The human shouted, terrified.

They arrived and both of them jumped from the horse running into the battle, unsheathing their swords... well, knives, in Legolas' case.

Aragorn went straight for Elladan, who was currently over-powered by too many orcs, as was Elrohir.

Legolas headed for Elrohir, who was holding up even worse, if possible. He seemed to be gravely injured, too, but it looked it like it had already been treated.

Both human and elf killed the orcs; coming out of the battle with barely any injuries, luckily. Rage definitely helped this fight.

Legolas collapsed after he killed the last orc, unable to stand any longer on his leg.

"Legolas!" Aragorn shouted, running to his fallen friend. "Are you injured?" He asked worriedly.

"I am fine. Look at the twins." The human nodded, but first picked up the archer and brought him over to Elrohir, supporting him. "Take a look at his injuries."

Legolas nodded, as well, knowing that Aragorn would be busy with his other brother and had no time to take a look at both. They needed to hurry so they could get back to Elrond. They would have to use the horses. There was no other choice. Legolas couldn't carry one of the twins because of his still healing leg and Aragorn couldn't carry both of them. On the plus side, they'd get to Elrond faster.

The blonde elf and dark-haired human quickly got to work with the task at hand.

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed. Don't mind it if I spelt orcs and/or Legolas wrong.. for some reaon I could not spell them. Also typing is a bit off right now so sry for the extra mistakes. n.n I'll try and get the next chapt out as soon as I can. IY has to be first, though.. gomen. n.n;; Gah! I know I had something else to say....

Btw, sry if I missed any of the italics... I did the ish diferently and it was harder to tell... n.n;;

**Plz Review!!**

Ja ne


	21. Finally! A Break!

**Disclaimer**: -sniff sniff- Still not mine...  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.  
  
Hmm.. it wasn't _that _long of a wait, was it? At least I was finally able to update. Volleyball sure does take up quite a bit of time, but it's fun so it's all good. n.n No idea when the next update will be.. I'll try for tomorrow or Thursday. This time, though, it definitely will be the IY one... I was supposed to update that before this... heh.. oops. Good for you peoples, right? n.n;; Though I don't know how anyone could like my writing... -sighs-  
  
_Review Responses_  
  
**Lynx Yamato** - lol.. of course they all always get into trouble. What kind of a story would it be if they didn't? n.n  
  
**Lady of the Twilight Woods** - thx, thx.. here's the update.. enjoy!  
  
**empath89** - thx again.. hope ya enjoy this chapt as well. n.n  
  
**galadriel evenstar** - Hmmm.. sounds like a plan. Don't worry I'll prob'ly end this fic soon.. sounds like you want it to end....  
  
**Insane Pirate624** - Oh, it's all good.. I know how it is to be busy.. with volleyball and whatnot. Okay, only volleyball really. I'm a bad student and don't do my homework... -.-;; Yeah, it pretty much has _finally_ left! Yayness! n.n;; Thx for the review. n.n  
  
**Mornflower** - lol.. thx... amused me much! Me like reviews like that.. n.n They're very entertaining... lol.  
  
**HarryEstel** - Aww.. thx. Hope ya had fun at work. n.n;;  
  
**Deana** - Ow! Ow?! Hah.. what about poor Legolas in YOUR fic.. you gave him asthma to top everything else. -sniff sniff- Man, poor Legolas!! He's so tortured! -grins evilly-  
  
**SirNotAppearingInThisFilm** - Umm... alrighty. That has to be the weirdest review I've gotten so far... so.. congrats... n.n;;;; But 'ja ne' means see ya in japanese. So you said it plently times... n.n;;  
  
**wadeva** - Yayness! You read _and_ reviewed my fic!! n.n I love your fic, Not Knowing, (haven't read your other one yet.. n.n ) it's so awesome! n.n Thx for the review!  
  
Thx for all the wonderful reviews! I appreciate them very much, especially when things aren't goin' my way.. which is very often.. -.- Plz keep them comin'.

* * *

  
  
**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Twenty-one  
  
Finally! A Break!**

* * *

Amazingly the twins didn't really have that much injuries. Elladan's only fatal one was the one to the throat, which he would survive from. Elrohir.. well, he would survive as well. He didn't have that much either, none fatal, luckily. The only one that could have done some damage was the one he already had on his abdomen. Somehow that didn't re-open, to their relief.  
  
Elladan had already regained consciousness and informed Legolas and Aragorn of what had happened along the way. Also giving the answers to the two about why they had walked for a while and then rode Sûl. He also told them how his younger twin had received the injury on his abdomen, as well as his broken arm from a previous orc encounter, which explained why they were already treated.  
  
"There seem to be more and more orcs every day." Aragorn stated.  
  
Both Elladan and Legolas grimly nodded.  
  
"Well, that did explain everything." The human said after some silence. _They ran into as much of trouble as we do._ He thought shaking his head.  
  
"Aye, and now we must return to ada. He needs to hear the report as well as help Elrohir." Elladan said, standing up, almost losing his balance.  
  
"I do not think ada will be too pleased with us." Aragorn said dreading the moment he'd face his father again, but it would have to be done and he didn't really mind it.. just the long lecture part.  
  
"Unlike you, I have a reason to be out here. I am sure you left without ada's permission." Elladan said wisely, knowing his brother well enough.  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Aragorn replied. Then turned serious. "You can ride with Elrohir and I shall ride with Legolas. I do not wish for you to ride, but we have little choice."  
  
Legolas, who was resting against a tree, stood up and spoke. "I can ride with Elrohir; that way Elladan can go with you."  
  
"Nay, I think Estel's suggestion is more logical." Elladan argued back. Not only did he want to ride with his twin but by the looks of it the ride had been rough on the blonde elf, even if he didn't show it.  
  
The elder twin turned from Legolas and went to Mîr, since he sent Sûl ahead he'd have to ride her instead... not that it was a bad thing. She was a very noble steed that protected Legolas with her life. Elladan talked to her a little bit explaining the situation. She neighed and let the dark-haired elf mount.  
  
Aragorn picked up Elrohir and gently handed him to his twin. "If you need to rest make sure to tell us. We shall stop if needed. No orcs should be after us anyway. We spared none in the last battle." The human said, caringly.  
  
At Elladan's nod of affirmation Aragorn went to Lor and mounted. "Come on, mellon nin." He said to the angry elf. He could ride on his own! Why couldn't they understand that?  
  
Mîr nudged his arm. "Sorry, girl, looks like we shall have to wait." With a pat he mounted Aragorn's mare.  
  
Elladan looked at Legolas sadly wishing that he could ride his own mare.  
  
Then they left with Mîr in front, and Lor behind them.  
  
Legolas looked at his horse. _I am not going to get injured again!_ He thought. He was tired of getting injured and having a lot of restrictions because of it. Why did he anyway? He was not an elfling! He didn't get injured on purpose; he could guarantee that. The danger just seemed to find him one way or another.

* * *

It had been two days since Elrohir and Elladan had left. Two days! Elrond was beyong worried now. It should not have taken them this long. And then Legolas and Aragorn still hadn't returned! They had been gone for almost the same amount of time. This did nothing to help the worried elf-lord.  
  
Elrond sighed deeply and rested his head on one hand, both of which were on the railing of the balcony. He looked at all the trees, shinning with the sun's gaze on their leaves. Bird would occasionally land on a branch, singing their songs. It was a very lovely sight, with only one thing missing: his sons. They would always be playing tricks on each other by the trees; Legolas joining them when he could break away from his duties in Mirkwood.  
  
The elf-lord started to think about sending a rescue mission after them and wondered if he should have done so already.  
  
Just as he was about to go inside and have some of his warriors get ready to leave he heard something. It sounded like a horse! Were his sons finally back? Something wasn't right, though. It only sounded like one horse. He frowned and turned back to the forest.  
  
Elrond saw a gray mare with white splotches. "Sûl!" He shouted in realization. He immediately started running back down the stairs and outside to the horse.  
  
The elder elf reached the horse and noticed she had scratches along her body; dried blood covering it as well and not only her own blood.  
  
A lean, well-built guard, with long dark hair came up to the elf-lord soon after wondering what was going on. "My lord?"  
  
"Annûnnand, get some warriors that you deem suitable for a search to find my sons and the prince." Elrond commanded hurriedly.  
  
_Valar, what has befallen them now?_ He sighed heavily and lead Sûl to the stables so the mare could get proper treatment; not to mention some rest. After, he quickly prepared his things and went to retreive his horse, Faun.  
  
When he arrived at the stables again, he found the warriors that he asked Annûnnand to assemble already there. Better for him, they'd be able to leave right away.  
  
"Are you ready, my lord?" The dark-haired elf asked.  
  
"Aye, hannon le. Let us begin the search." He just hoped that his sons were fairing well.

* * *

It was now dark out so the human and the three elves decided to rest for the night. They had taken only one break in the period of time they had been riding so had travled quite far. All of them were exhausted from the events of earlier and the long ride. Elrohir was now in a conscious state, but not very coherent. They were all just relieved that he was alice. All they wanted to do now was get him to Elrond for the correct, and thorough, treatment. That's all they really could do. None of them had that much herbs with them now. They had used them up already on the way.. well, the twins had. Legolas and Aragorn had some but every herb they had wouldn't accomplish much.  
  
Legolas dismounted Lor before Aragorn could even think of helping him. He started to gather wood for a fire.  
  
Aragorn shook his head at the blonde's behavior and walked to Elladan to help him with their brother.  
  
The elder elf carefully handed Elrohir down to the human on the ground that was waiting. Then dismounted himself. Elladan, who had to be the most tired out of them all, sat down against a tree. Aragorn, knowing that his elder brother woudl wnat to hold his twin, carried him over to him.  
  
Elladan smiled in appreciation. He put Elrohir against his chest with his head on his shoulder. The younger elf had closed his eyes again, but still hadn't fallen asleep, which was both bad and good. Good because none of them were sure how long Elrohir would sleep; bad because the elf needed the rest.  
  
"I shall take watch." Legolas suddenly announced. By his logic he was the most fit for teh position at the moment. And this time he definitely wasn't going to accept no as an answer.  
  
Nevertheless, Aragorn tried to argue his case against the archer taking watch.  
  
Legolas was angry now, but tried not to show it too much. "You have not slept in days. Elladan just lost lots of blood and is beyond exhausted. And Elrohir.. well, I do not believe that needs an explaination. Now, go to sleep!" The determinded Prince of Mirkwood commanded.  
  
Aragorn stared at the elf, not expecting that response, though he should have. Knowing he wasn't going to win this argument the human put his arms up in surrender. "Fine, **prince **Legolas." He said in a teasing manor, earning a cold glare from the elf, but there was a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth showing he was trying not to laugh or even smile. "However, you must wake me and I shall take over."  
  
Legolas frowned, but supposed it was... fair. He nodded and climbed into a tree that he thought would be best to scout.  
  
Aragorn noticed that Legolas climbed up slower than usual. He figured that the elf's injury was paining him more than he was letting on. _Not that that is anything new_. He thought not surprised. It was obviously better than before, though, despite the harsh treatment it was receiving from the horse.  
  
Now that the human was about to go to sleep he realized it was cold. He rubbed his hands up and down his arms and went to the fire. After a few minutes he laid down and drifted off to sleep, shivering slightly from the cold.  
  
Legolas, who was watching Aragorn, noticed the shivering, and jumped from the tree; still with the grace of an elf. He took off his cloak, which was tattered, but would suffice, and drapped it over the human's sleeping form. He couldn't feel the bite of the cold so what would be the purpose of him keeping it when Aragorn obviously needed it?  
  
The archer smiled when he heard a sigh of contentment from the human. He watched the sleeping form for a minute. Then returned to his tree and resumed his watch.

* * *

Hmmm.. how was it? Really mellow chapt. Hope ya don't mind that. Hey, Elrond left for them though. Is he actually goin' to be able to help them? Or is he just goin' to go the wrong direction and miss them completely? You'll never know... n.n;;; Just kidding, just kidding. You'll prob'ly find out next chapt, which will hopefully be posted fairly soon. n.n  
  
Btw, how many of you like shounen ai/slash/ship/yaoi whatever the heck** you** call it? -.-...So many diff names... -.- I need to know so plz answer. And, no, it will not be used for this fic.. it would be **way** too late to add it in now.. so don't worry about that... n.n;;  
  
**Plz Review!! And answer the question!** **...plz... -grins-  
**  
Ja ne

Now equal signs don't work... wtf?! That's freakin' screwed up!


	22. Why!

**Disclaimer**: I own it not.  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.  
  
Thank thee for thy patience. n.n It is not my fault! I keep thinking with the thee's, thy's, thou's and whatnot cuz of the books I've been reading. n.n;; But anywayz... for some reason I was having problems writting this chapt... minor ones. Volleyball is coming to an end.. I think. -shrugs- I know I only have two more games... and some odd practices left. Kinda sad... kinda not.. only not sad cuz this person on my team needs to go away.. but volleyball's so much fun.. n.n

* * *

_Review Responses  
_  
**Mornflower** - I know! It's freakin' stupid! Grrr... on them! Lol.. poor Estel, gettin' yelled at... n.n;;  
  
**SNAITF** - I'm sry but I don't appreciate that. I hate it when people are that narrow-minded. I can understand about not liking it, but _hating_ it... well, that's just a bit too extreme. Some guys like other guys and some girls like girls.. it's just the way it is. And 'gross' and 'disgusting' should never be used to describe it. Sry but I had to say that.  
  
Yeah, I'm starting to not like this site as much as before since they're putting in more and more rules. People should be able to post _whatever_ they wish! Your fic got taken off? Why? Wait, wait.. banned? Your whole account? That sucks! Havin' fun with writtin' LOTR over and over again? lol  
  
**empath89** - Yeah, I am planning on posting the sequel with shounen ai in it eventually. Dunno when that'll get posted though, since I do have other idea. The FFVIII fic will prob'ly be posted before the other... -shrugs- We'll see. Thx for the review and actually answering the question.. n.n  
  
**Lynx Yamato** - Don't worry I shall not stop 'til the stories completed... n.n  
  
**galadriel evenstar** - Heh.. sry, I think I was in a bad mood that day and prob'ly just read your review wrong... plz forgive me! n.n  
  
**Deana** - Lol.. thx... glad ya liked it. n.n  
  
**neo** - Yes, I am planning on makin' a sequel with shounen ai in it. n.n Don't worry we all love seeing Legolas in pain.. n.n;;; I think you may get your wish soon... n.n;;  
  
**Cygnus** - Glad ya like it! Dunno if ya still do or if you even continued reading it, but.. yeah. thx for the reivews! n.n  
  
**lili** - Heh... sry about the non-action-ness of it.. -.- There will be more coming up shortly.. n.n  
  
**HarryEstel** - Lol... maybe you should write the lecture then.. n.n Just playin'. n.n;;; Yeah, it won't be purdy.. n.n Sry it took a while for the update, but not as long as usual, right?  
  
**wadeva** - Thank you! n.n Sry it took a while for the update... n.n;;  
  
Thank you so much for the reviews you guys! You have no idea how much they mean to me. n.n And at least the update didn't take as long as usual, right? n.n Btw, some parts might have a lot of mistakes, my hands were freezing so.. yeah. I will go back through and fix the mistakes eventually... n.n If you see any horrible mistakes, whether spelling or anything, plz point them out. I would be glad to fix it... n.n  
  
Enjoy!

* * *

  
**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Twenty-two  
  
Why?!**

* * *

Legolas had stayed up the whole night, not waking Aragorn to take over the watch. He had been exhausted, but thought that the human deserved a break. He hadn't received any sleep in days and had been keeping watch himself when Legolas had been unable to do so. While doing this had only good intentions the human had immediately yelled at the elf for not waking him once he had realized it.  
  
"I needed rest much less than you and you know it. While I was recovering you stayed by my side, instead of resting. Only after your father dragged you off to bed did you get a little." Legolas stated about when he had been suffering from the poison when Aragorn had started arguing with him. "**And** on the way here you barely got any rest." Legolas shouted, defending himself before the human could say anything else.  
  
"Aye, but you still need your rest." Aragorn tried to argue against the case he already knew he was losing.  
  
"And so do you! How--"  
  
"It matters not about the watch. There is nothing you two can do to change it." Elladan stated the truth. He was in a hurry to go so they could reach their father. He looked at the two and noticed they were staring at him. "Well, shall we go then?"  
  
The blonde elf and human nodded and started to put things away while Elladan sat against the same tree as the night before, with his twin still in his lap.  
  
Elrohir hadn't woken yet, but he had faith in his brother and knew he'd wake up once his body was ready for him to. It looked like he was at least getting some rest. Elrohir had a very peaceful look on his face and Elladan smiled, knowing that his brother was getting some much needed rest. The only thing that bothered him was his twin's closed eyes. However, that would change soon enough, he hoped. First thing's first, though, they needed to get him to their father!  
  
The dark-haired elf looked up at Legolas and Aragorn and noticed that they had completed the clean-up. Aragorn was coming over to him, no doubt to help him with Elrohir. He noticed that Legolas was going over to Lor instead of Mîr. He figured that the two had had another fight while getting ready to leave, but brushed it off, knowing they were done for the moment. So long as they already had things figured out it didn't bother him. By the looks of it he'd also be able to ride with his twin instead of with Aragorn or Legolas, which he preferred. He'd much rather keep an eye on Elrohir.  
  
"Here. I shall hand him to you when you mount Mîr." Aragorn stated, startling the elf. "Elladan? Are you well?" The human asked concerned.  
  
"Aye, I was only thinking." He wasn't lying either. He may be exhausted, but not to the point where he'd admit it. He just been thinking of his twin; Aragorn had reached him quicker than he thought he would. He hadn't even heard the human's heavy footsteps, though!  
  
Aragorn looked at him skeptically, but pushed it aside when his attention was drawn to Elrohir. Elladan's hand had been running through Elrohir's hair in a caring manor. The ranger immediately remembered the rush they were in and stood up again. He had stooped next to the twins when asking the elder one if he was alright. He checked Elrohir breifly, who was still in an unconscious state, which was good at the moment since they'd be riding once more.  
  
"Here." Aragorn held out his arms so Elladan could give Elrohir to him for the moment. "I shall hand him to you once you mount." He said repeating his earlier statement.  
  
This time the dark-haired elf responded and carefully stood up and handed Elrohir to his brother. Then headed over to Mîr.  
  
Legolas watched all this curiously, wondering how the elder elf felt, seeing his twin in such a condition. Sure, they had seen each other in horrible condition before. Every one of their expeditions always ended up having one, or both of them wounded, usually pretty severely too, just like Legolas and Aragorn's adventures. However, each different time must send pain through their hearts, regardless of how many times it happened. The twins had a very strong connection. Nothing could tear them apart.  
  
"Mellon nin?" He heard Aragorn call for him. Apparently, he had said something to him already but he failed to notice. _Not helping my case any._ _They already think me too weak to ride on my own._ The blonde thought, despising the situation. He **never** liked being hurt. Everyone always treated him as though he were an elfling. He did know that it was only out of love, though. And he was happy to have such caring people around him. The treatment just got annoying sometimes. Especially when he received it practically **every** time he returned to either Elrond, or his own kingdom. If he could truly stop it, he most certainly would! But, alas, he that was impossibly, unfortunately.  
  
Legoals had mounted Lor behind Aragorn and they were once more on their way. By their guess they would return to Elrond in about a day.... if no more trouble arose.

* * *

Elrond and his warriors had been travelling for hours now; with no signs of his sons, that included Legolas by his terms. The prince was like a forth son to him. He loved him dearly and if anything should happen to him or his sons he.. didn't know what he'd do.  
  
"Let me know if you see anything, no matter how insignificant it may seem. I want to take all possible precautions." Elrond ordered his warriors.  
  
He sighed deeply. _I know not if this even be the direction they are_. Had he gone toward the way that he had sent the twins to look for the orcs, hoping to find some sign of them. He now knew that there had been some orcs, or some other threat, and now regretted ever having them go on the quest. He could have sent other elves, but thought that the twins would be best so sent them.  
  
"My lord?" Annûnnand questioned to get the elf-lord's attention. Elrond had been paying attention to his surroundings, and had been preoccupied by him own thoughts so hadn't heard the elf at first.  
  
The guard placed a caring hand on Elrond's shoulders and said, "Worry not, my lord, we shall get them back. You know this more than I." He had ceame over to his lord when he saw his sad expression. Everyone knew how much love Elrond had for his children, and the prince, and doubted he'd be able to live through the greif if he should happen to lose even one. After losing his wife he definitely wouldn't be able to handle losing a son, if not more. They intended to do everything within their power to prevent that from happening. They had faith in his sons and were sure they could reach them in time to help them.  
  
"Iston. Hannon le." Elrond siad, appreciating the comfort.  
  
The two rode side-by-side silently aftwards, concentrating on their surroundings.

* * *

"Tis alright, Elrohir. Calm down." Legolas and Aragorn heard Elladan tell his twin. Both looked back at Elorhir and saw that he was twisting around and whispering things quickly and quietly in elvish. They were unable to understand what he was saying. They went next to Mîr for closer inspection.  
  
"What happened?" Legolas asked concerned. Elrohir had shown no signs of being disturbed until now.  
  
"I know not. Most likely a nightmare." Elladan answered, scared for his twin. The movements had startled him and when he had started mumbling it did nothing to lessen the worry.  
  
Deciding it would be safer to help Elrohir on the ground he beckoned Aragorn to come closer.  
  
Aragorn knew that Elladan wanted the younger elf on the ground so he dismounted. Elladan then handed Elrohir to the human. Aragorn had to be very careful, since the elf's movements were very unpredictable. He gently laid the distressed elf onto the grass and tried to wake him. Legolas came to his side, also trying to help him. He had dismounted shortly after the human.  
  
Elladan quickly jumped off Mîr and went to his twin. "Elrohir! Elrohir! Wake up, gwanunig-nín!" He shouted frightened. He noticed that the two were unable to wake him. A groan was his only response.  
  
Legolas shook the younger twin, hoping it would help. This, surprisingly, did cause his eyes to flutter.  
  
"That's it. Come on, Elrohir. Open your eyes." Elladan coaxed his twin, his hope rising at the reaction Legolas had received.  
  
Elrohir stopped his flailing, laying still on the grass, but still unconscious, unfortunately. His breath came in quick gasps. They wanted to wake him up. It did relieve them greatly to see that the twin's nightmares had seemed to come to an end.  
  
"There you go." Aragorn said, comfortingly. "Wake up, now, muindor-nín."  
  
Elrohir's eyes fluttered again and then very slowly opened about half-way - all he could manage at the moment because of how tired he was. They all winced in sympathy, seeing the pain and fatigue in his eyes.  
  
All of them smiled at him when they noticed he was looking at them. They were all just glad to see him awake. That whole episode had scared them greatly. They hoped that wouldn't happen again, especially anytime soon. It had also wasted time for them to get Elrohir back to Elrond. There could have been a possiblity of avoiding this whole situation if they had gotten there already. However, there was nothing they could do at the moment. Elrohir obviously needed to rest and would receive some, without hesitation. None would object to the rest anyway. They had been riding for at least a couple hours and deserved a break, especially Legolas, who hadn't slept at all during the night. Besides, all of them were very exhausted, whether they showed it or not. This time, however, they did not wish for Elrohir to fall asleep.  
  
Elladan and Aragorn hugged Elrohir, mindful of his injuries.  
  
The younger twin looked at Legolas bewildered; the blonde just laughed at his expression.  
  
Elrohir just blinked slowly, confused; then closed his eyes again.  
  
This alarmed Legolas, but he soon realized that the dark-haired elf only had his eyes closed and wasn't sleeping.  
  
Both Aragorn and Elladan had broken away from him finally, getting ahold of themselves.  
  
"Shall we rest here for a while? We cannot be too long though. We know not if any orcs lurk around this are." Aragorn already knew that they would, in fact rest there for a while and hope nothing was around. They didn't have the strength to fight anything, especially large groups of orcs.

* * *

They had been keeping Elrohir away while they took a break in fear of a repeat of what jsut happened. They weren't sure if they'd be able to wake him if that happened again. Aragorn had given him some herbs for the pain, hoping it would help him on the ride. It seemed to have helped so far. They had been riding for a couple hours now, with still a while to go.  
  
The ride there hadn't seemed so far before, to Elladan at least. The twins had taken their own time on the way there; messing around snice they weren't on a time limit. Now, unfortunately, they had to hurry.. for Elrohir's sake. For Legolas and Aragorn, however, the time didn't seem much different. They had to hurry on the way to Elladan and Elrohir and now were in a rush back to Elrond.  
  
Another hour into travelling, Legolas suddenly stopped conversing with Aragorn and listened.  
  
"What is it, mellon nin?" Aragorn asked fearing the answer.  
  
The elf swore under his breath. "More orcs; this time with wargs."  
  
Aragorn stared wide-eyed in disbelief, wondering how much trouble they could possibly run into on one trip.  
  
Elladan had been focusing on comforting his twin and hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings so didn't hear the orcs and wargs. He stopped and listened to confirm it for himself, hoping it wasn't true. "What are we going to do?" He questioned his companions when he also heard the creatures.  
  
"What **can** we do, is the question." Aragorn stated. Then sighed. "We shall just have to run and hope for the best."  
  
None liked the idea. Orcs on wargs were very fast, especially since they had one wounded and had two people per horse. Evil creatures controlling evil creatures was never a good thing.  
  
Without another word they all sped up, trying to go at a pace that woudln't be too painful for Elrohir. They didn't want him to be even less alert. If they did actually have to fight, which they'd be in a lot of trouble if so, they wanted him to be aware of the things around him as much as possible. This, however, didn't seem very likely.  
  
Legolas sighed despairingly. "It seems as though we have been surrounded. We shall **have** to fight now." He hated this notion. There was no other choice, though, and they all knew it. _Everytime._ _Why could we not just have a break for once?_

__   
  
They stopped and dismounted. They decided to put Elrohir in a relatively safe spot so that he was hidden from the orcs. Although they knew this probably wouldn't work and decided to stay somewhere where they could get to him quickly should he need help. Last time they had tried this it had failed. All attempts at making things go their way had been failing miserably lately.  
  
The wargs with orc riders were getting even closer.  
  
They braced themsevles for a fight, holding their weapons at the ready.  
  
They engaged the enemies as they charged the three fighters, that hoped against all odds they'd be able to get out of this victorious.

* * *

-sighs- Sry if parts are messed up and don't sound right. I was so tired while writting this I almost fell asleep. I did try to make it flow as much as possible, sry if I did a bad job of it. I really do not feel like this is up to par anywayz... -sighs- ..oh well...

This time I have no idea if this or my IY fic will be updated first... kinda stuck on the IY, but kinda not... -shrugs- We shall see...

Wolf's Rain and a new ep. of InuYasha are on tonight.. yayness! n.n Sry 'bout that.. n.n;;;  
  
_Plz Review!_  
  
Ja ne, minna.


	23. A Grave Battle

**Disclaimer**: -sniff sniff- Still not mine...  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.  
  
Only four days! Omg it's another miracle... -.- Had a half-day today so typed it up quickly.. n.n Hmmm.. I think there was somethin' else I had to say..

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_Review Responses_  
  
**Lynx Yamato** - Was that soon? n.n  
  
**kell** - Okey.. hope ya enjoy...  
  
**Zaio** - I never know whether or not you peoples continue the fic... -shrugs- Well, I hope you're still enjoying it... n.n  
  
**SNAITF** - It's alright. Sry if I over-reacted. It just.. yeah, I'll stop with that. I'm glad you're still enjoying this! n.n  
  
**HarryEstel** - Heh.. well, got an even quicker update this time.. n.n Yeah, nothing ever does, huh? lol  
  
**empath89** - I do too! Believe me I do.. n.n;;; Yeah, it may have been a horrible cliffie but at least the update wasn't a long wait, right?  
  
**galadriel evenstar** - n.n hope ya enjoy!  
  
**Mornflower** - I didn't know that you were in basketball.. I don't think basketball season has started yet at my school... -shrugs- Lol.. poor you.. they don't seem to like your comments... -sniff sniff-  
  
**Deana** - Well, here ya go... n.n  
  
Thx so much for the reviews! Plz keep them comin'... n.n  
  
Btw, some parts might not flow together or whatever cuz I wrote this over a period of, like, three days... stupid brother.. hoggin' the comp... -.-

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**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Twenty-three  
  
A Grave Battle**

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They had been fighting a hard battle. The three, who were already exhausted were starting to slow. However, they kept going, determined to fight to their fullest. They would not give up.. no matter what!  
  
As they thought, the orcs had found Elrohir in a matter of minutes, so they had to protect him as well as themselves. Luckily, for Legolas, his once poisoned injury was healed enough so that it didn't bother him as much as before. He was, however, very tired from staying up taking watch the whole night.  
  
So far they had only received minor injuries, for which all of them were very grateful. And they hoped it would stay that way.  
  
Aragorn blocked an orc's attack and thrust his own sword into the orc's exposed stomache, cutting it deeply. The orc dropped, clutching its stomache; dying shortly after. The human had no break inbetween as another orc immediately came at him, except this time it was riding a warg.  
  
The warg rider charged him; the orc's sword ready to slay the human.  
  
Aragorn rolled out of the way, knowing that if he blocked the orc's attack the warg would just kill him instead, most likely biting into his unguarded side.  
  
He quickly jumped up and stabbed the orc, dragging him down; before the warg had a chance to turn around.  
  
The warg, now without a rider, charged argain, ready to bite deeply within the human's flesh. He dodged it again, and forced his sword through its neck. Instantely killing it.  
  
Breathing heavily, Aragorn spared a moment to look around to see how his companions were fairing.  
  
He saw that Legolas was doing well. He was worried, though, when he saw blood on his injured leg; around the same spot it other wound had been. One of the orcs must have struck him there. He knew that the elf's injury must be sending shoots of agony throughout his leg once more. However, Aragorn could tell that the archer was ignoring it; continuing on with the fight as though the injury had never happened. He was relieved to see that the blonde had no other injuries; (that he could see from the distance) only scratches.  
  
Aragorn instinctively blocked an orc's blade when he felt like he was in danger. All the years of fighting he learned never to doubt his feelings, especially in a battle as fierce as this! He turned to the orc and fought it quickly, killing another. There were still so many left!  
  
The ranger continued his survey and looked to the spot where they had left Elrohir. Elladan, of course, had stayed close to him, protecting him at all costs. Sure enough, both were still in the same spot. Elladan killing all orcs, and wargs, that came at him; making sure none got past him. The older twin had received many minor injuries. He had already been exhausted before this battle and now was coming to his limit. The only thing that kept him going was the need to protect his family.  
  
Aragorn was unable to tell if Elrohir's eyes were open, but thought they were. It even seemed as though he were trying to get up to help his twin in the fight; obviously unable to so, though.  
  
The human quickly refocused on his own enemies that he was currently fighting.  
  
"Elladan!" Aragorn heard Legolas shout, desperately, after a few more minutes into the fight.  
  
The human looked over just in time to see Legolas stabbed in the chest by an orc that had been after the distracted Elladan.  
  
Aragorn's eyes widened in disbelief and shock. He saw the blonde elf drop his twin knives and pull the sword out of his chest. He smiled faintly, glad that he had been able to protect the dark-haired elf. And then the archer crumpled to the ground. For the first time in his life since he was a child, he froze, frightened.  
  
Elladan killed the orc that had stabbed Legolas and then knelt next to him, not paying attention to his surroundings. He was relieved to see that the archer was still breathing, though it was shallow.  
  
Aragorn snapped out of his shock and was immediately by their side, protecting them from the mases of orcs and wargs. "How does he fair?" He questioned his brother, while blocking an orc's attack, fearing what the response could be.  
  
"Alive." Elladan answered, short and to the point. He looked around, not seeing either of the horses. He decided he would have to do without the herbs for now. What was important now was to stop the bleeding as soon as possible!  
  
The elder twin tore a piece of his cloak quickly and tried to staunch the flow of blood, applying pressure. Legolas still let out a gasp of pain even though he was unconscious.  
  
Elladan felt sympathy for the elf, but ignored it as best as he could and concentrated only on stopping the bleeding.  
  
Aragorn, who was tempted to look at what was going on, couldn't even spare a second glance. He was being quickly overpowered by the creatures. He wished for help but would rather have Elladan treat Legolas than help him fight off the wargs and orcs. Legolas' life was much more important than his own.  
  
A warg bit him in a leg causing him to fall. Fortunately, he was able to stay on his knees instead of falling all the way. Not a good position, but better than lying down! He thrusted his sword into another warg that was going for his neck. He had no time to kill the one connected to his leg when two other riders came upon him. He had to get up!  
  
Aragorn swung his sword and struck the warg that was attached to his leg. It immediately let go, but his strike had caused the teeth to sink in deeper before releasing, sending even more pain through his leg.  
  
The human now only had enough time to kill one of the wargs coming after him. He blocked the orc's attack; then killed it. Then went after the warg.  
  
There was no way to kill the other!  
  
Just when he was about to stab the warg and roll out of the way of the other he heard Elladan let out a frantic cry of "Legolas!?"  
  
In worry; without thinking, he turned his attention to the two, knowing he should have stopped himself. But the plea sounded so desperate.  
  
It looked like Legolas had stopped breathing and Elladan was trying to revive him. _Please, no_. He thought. If Legolas died then... well, he didn't know what he'd do.  
  
Aragorn turned his attention back to his own battle, worried about Legolas' own life but knew that if he let these creatures get by none of them, especially Legolas, would stand a chance.  
  
A warg was just about to bite him when a sword, seemingly from no where, tore open the warg's flesh, causing blood to ooze out.  
  
The human looked at his savior in disbelief. It was Elrohir! Somehow he had regained enough consciousness, and strength to help. The younger elf stood unsteadily, but defiantly with an orc's blade in his hand. His own sword was with Mîr. None of them thought Elrohir woudl be alert enough to defend **himself**, let alone someone else!  
  
"Good to haev your assistance, muindor-nín." Aragorn smiled.  
  
The dark-haired elf just smiled faintly, not able to spare his breath.  
  
He wondered how long Elrohir would actually be able to fight. Aragorn didn't think that it was that good of an idea for him to help him fight, but he really needed to help.The human wanted to check on Legolas and see how he was doing, but still wasn't able to. The last time he looked the elf hadn't even been breathing! He **really** hoped Elladan had been able to revive him!  
  
Elrohir was only able to help for a short amount of time. His adrenaline wore off and exhaustion set back in, though he still did try to help.  
  
An orc slipped by the pair and neither were able to stop it, being too preoccupied by the orcs and wargs they were already fighting.  
  
Aragorn tried to get to Legolas and Elladan but couldn't get past the orcs that had blocked his path. He swore and fought even harder, hoping to kill them in time to help.  
  
"Elladan! Behind you!" The human shouted above the clashing swords, seeing that he wouldn't make it. However, it was too late and the orc was already upon the elder elf. It started to bring down its sword when, suddenly, an arrow was in its neck.  
  
Elladan let out a huge sigh of relief. He had looked up when Aragorn called his name, to find an orc above him. He was curious to where the arrow came from but focused on the task before him.  
  
The injury that had been inflicted on Legolas took a while to stop bleeding and he wished he had some herbs for it.  
  
Aragorn, however, was beyond worried, and looked around. He was ecstatic to see, not to mention hear, his father and some warriors ride up to them and join the battle.  
  
When Elrohir saw them he immediately collapsed, not able to fight any longer and knew that they didn't need his help. The only thing that had kept him fighting was Aragorn's need for help.

* * *

The scene that Elrond and his warriors came upon horrified them. Elladan trying desperately to help the fallen Legolas. Aragorn and Elrohir trying to fight off the remaining orcs and wargs, which were too many in number for them. The younger twin looked to the point of collapse. And, sure enough, right when he spotted his father he did.  
  
A quick look over and the elder elf saw that Aragorn had a deep bite on his leg that was still bleeding. He also had gashes all over. Elrond was surprised they had been able to last to his arrival.  
  
The elf-lord brought his attention back to the battle and ordered his warriors to finish the orcs and wargs off. He went over to Elladan and Legolas, figuring the blonde was in a more dire situation than Elrohir. Why else would Elladan be helping the archer instead of his twin? Well, that would actually be a very difficult decision for the elf indeed, since he loved both very much.  
  
"Estel! Help Elrohir!" Elrond shouted, hoping his son woudl hear over the screeches the creatures made as they were slayed. He saw the human drop next to his brother. That took care of that. He could fully concentrate on Legolas now.  
  
"What happened?" Elrond immediately asked his eldest son. He had jumped off his horse and sat next to the two, checking Legolas' injury. It looked grim indeed. An inch higher and the sword would have pierced his heart. No wonder Elladan had been so involved in it to not notice an orc that was right next to him.  
  
Elladan moved aside so his father could get in a better position to look. "He... he protected me." The elder son stuttered, feeling guilty. "An orc come at me when I was protecting Elrohir. I did not notice it in time and.. and he was stabbed instead."  
  
Elrond could tell that his son felt horrible about the whole situation, looking at the wound he could see why. Luckily the sword had not struck his heart, so he should live if he hadn't lost too much blood. It was a very good thing that Elladan had been able to stop it, if not.. well, he didn't want to think about it.  
  
"It is not your fault, ion nin." Elrond tried to reassure him.  
  
"How do you know? You were not here when it happened." Elladan sighed in dispair. He felt terrible. He should have been paying more attention.  
  
He watched his father's expert hands put herbs onto the wound.  
  
Fortunately Elrond had brought along a lot of herbs and everything needed to treat injuries. He had, after all, expected at least one of them to be hurt since they hadn't returned. And here he found them in the throes of a battle! All were injured!  
  
"Worry not about guilt or blame. Now is not the time. You shall have plently of it later." Elrond said, teasingly, trying to lighten the mood, though failing miserably. It was very hard to do when you had a near death patient in from of him. "You can ask Legolas, himself, how he feels when he regains consciousness." This did stop further protest from Elladan.  
  
"Can I be of some assistance?" The dark-haired elf asked after a moment of silence.  
  
"Aye, **very** gently lift him up so I can wrap the bandage around him. Make sure you do not re-open the wound. He cannot afford it." Elrond instructed. He had finished with the herbs and now needed to dress the wound.  
  
Elladan did as he was told, glad to be of some use and carefully lifted him. He knew how to treat the wounded, he had done so for a couple millennia now, after all. Elrond had taught him almost everything he knew about the subject.  
  
"My lord, we have diposed of all the enemies." Annûnnand updated Elrond on the current event. "We have no casualties; only injured."  
  
"Very good news." Elrond said without taking his attention away from his patient. "As soon as Estel and I are finished we shall leave."  
  
"Aye, my lord." The guard backed away, leaving the elf-lord alone to focus on the pale prince.

* * *

Aragorn had received access to the many herbs his father brought along. When he checked his brother over he was dismayed to find that the elf's wound on his abdomen had re-opened. However, he wasn't surprised. The elf had helped out in a very hard battle and for quite a while too.  
  
The human also found a large gash on Elrohir's arm and various other cuts covering his body.  
  
When the dark-haired elf had collapsed he had also fallen unconscious, much to Aragorn's dislike. He was just glad that Elrohir was alive, though.  
  
Aragorn soon finished treating Elrohir and stood up, about to pick up Elrohir. It was then that he was reminded of the warg's bite in his leg. He instantely collapsed when the pressure was put on his leg and had to prevent himself from screaming in pain.  
  
A warrior that had been walking by looked at him in a concerned manor and asked if he needed help.  
  
Aragorn waved him off saying he was alright and set to treating the bite with the remaining supplies he had next to him.  
  
"Are you ready, ion nin?" He heard Elrond's question. He looked up and noticed that he was carrying the unconscious Legolas in his arms.  
  
"Aye." The human replied, standing up; almost falling again. A warrior caught him and helped him to Lor. The horses had returned to the site once the battle was finished, knowing it was now safe. They didn't want the three to have to protect two horses, as well as Elorhir, and themselves, so had fled.  
  
Elladan had picked up Elrohir gently and mounted Mîr, knowing she wouldn't mind. Elrond also mounted his own horse, Faun.  
  
Then they once again started off towards Imladris. This time feeling confident. They were sure they'd make it back without anymore mishaps. They had their father and many warriors with them. They could finally relax.. well, as much as you could on a horse and knowing that Legolas' life was still in grave danger.

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Finally!! Man, I had this ready to post on Monday.. well, just needed to type it up. But I had no time! Gah.. it made me mad. My brother was on the comp, like, the whole time... -.- I was finally able to type it and post it, though.. and only within... four days! Crazyness! Alrighty... well, I think I'm actually goin' to write the next chapt to this again. Maybe I'll just finish this fic up and then continue the IY one.... hmm... -shrugs- dunno.. we shall see...  
  
_Plz Review!!_  
  
Ja ne 


	24. Yesss!

**Disclaimer**: I own it not.  
  
Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.  
  
Ten days... that counts for something, right? No... fine, fine.

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__

_Review Responses_  
  
**SNAITF** - Lol... well, _something_ had to happen to him, ya know? n.n;; How did the band thingie go, btw? I would have said good luck, but seeing as how I just now updated that woulda been kinda hard... -.-;;  
  
**Lynx Yamato** - Lol.. yeah, it is the best type of LotR fic.. the Legolas angst... n.n Ya gotta love it! n.n;; Lol.. I hope this update wasn't too long.  
  
**Mornflower** - Thanks... n.n  
  
**Deana** - Lol... yeah, 'ow.' n.n;;  
  
**HarryEstel** - Lol... I dunno. Guess you'll just have to see... n.n;; Hopefully this wasn't too long of a wait for ya.  
  
**empath89** - Lol... Yeah, poor Legolas. Everything always happens to him, huh?  
  
**galadriel evenstar** - Well, you did say you wanted more.... n.n;;; Besides, it just seemed to fit in right there.... -.-;; Maybe I should stop torturing Legolas so much... Hmm.. Nah! It's too much fun! n.n  
  
I dunno why but some of this was really hard to write. I couldn't concentrate at all the other day. And it was makin' me mad. Then I finally got it flowing and my friend called! . What's up with that?! Not cool... nope, nope. Oh well, it's up now... hope you all enjoy! And thx for the reviews! Keep up them coming, plz. n.n

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**If it's not one thing, it's another  
  
Chapter Twenty-four  
  
Yesss!**

****

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They were a couple hours into the ride when they had to stop. Legolas had finally started to stir and they did not want him to feel the pain of the ride. The motion of the horse would only cause the elf more agony.  
  
"We shall stop for a while." Elrond announced.  
  
Aragorn was glad to rest. The bite he had received from the warg, rubbing against his horse's side sent pain throughout his leg.  
  
Elrohir had regained consciousness and had insisted they travel when his father tried to have them stop. He was, however, grateful when they really were going to stop, and it wasn't on his accord. He did not wish the others to know, but it definitely hurt when the movements of the horse jostled his injury.  
  
Elladan knew his twin was in pain and wished he could have switched him places so as to stop his pain. He was the only one that had somehow come out of the battle relatively unharmed, only having a few cuts here and there; nothing serious.  
  
Everyone dismounted and either laid down or sat against a tree, relaxing. Some warriors, had to scout ahead to see if there were any dangers. Fortunately, they came back with nothing but good things to report.  
  
Elrond had laid Legolas down on the ground and waited for him to fully gain consciousness. The archer moaned and slowly started to open his eyes. When he finally got them open he quickly shut them, the blinding brightness of the sun causing pain to his sensitive eyes.  
  
"Legolas." Elrond said gently. "How do you feel?" He knew it to be a foolish question, but asked it anyway.  
  
The blonde moaned again and weakly dragged his hand up to his chest where the injury was, not alert enough to tell that he was even asked a question.  
  
That was answer enough. "Someone start a fire." The elf-lord commanded. They immediately obeyed him and got to work.  
  
The elder elf looked at Legolas and noticed something he had overlooked before because of how grave the injury was. He saw that Legolas was bleeding on his leg, right where his once poisoned wound had been. He inwardly winced, thinking of the pain it must have caused when he orc or warg sliced open the painful wound. He had to treat it right away. It could easily get infected, especially since it had been poisoned and not too long ago at that.  
  
Legolas' eyes still hadn't reopened. Elrond was even more worried to find that the elf had actually fallen back asleep in that short amount of time. He knew that the archer was exhausted, but **that** exhausted?  
  
The elf-lord shrugged it off for the moment, deciding it was better for Legolas to get rest.  
  
He got to work and treated Legolas' injury. He looked over the elf for other injuries, figuring he should treat them as well. Elrond was dismayed to when he found that he had cuts covering him; some being deep.  
  
_I should have treated him more thoroughly_. The elder elf thougth about when he had first helped him. He had been too concerned with the grave injury on his chest - with good reason. However, he had overlooked all other injuries. The lose of more blood definitely wouldn't help the poor elf.  
  
"How is he, ada?" Aragorn asked. He saw how much wounds his father was treating, and was very worried. Legolas must have been more tired from taking watch the whole night than he let on.  
  
The human was finally able to get to the two with the help of the same warrior, Thônor, that rode on Lor with him. Aragorn had been friends with him most of his life and trusted the elf entirely. The ranger was grateful for the help.  
  
Elrond surpressed a sigh, not knowing how to answer. He wasn't even exactly sure himself, so what could he tell his son? Aragorn cared deeply for his elven friend; everyone knew that, and to tell him that, it would devestate the human. Elrond was rarely unsure about his patients, and whenhe was it usually didn't spell anything good for the patient.  
  
Aragorn sensed how hesitant the elder elf was about responding, and felt a chill of dread. "The truth, father."  
  
This time Elrond sighed, he knew that his son woudl be able to see through any lie he might come up with now so went with the truth. "I am unsure. While it seems like he shall recover - which I still have faith - he is exhausted beyond reasoning. And with the amoung of blood loss...." The healer trailed off sure that Aragorn got his point.  
  
He saw the forlorn expression on his son's face and felt horrible for giving him such news.  
  
Elrond had been treating Legolas' wounds while talking with the ranger. He had just finished so he dropped the remaining bandages from his hand and quickly stood. He pulled his son to him and hugged him tightly, wishing he could spare his son - **all** his sons their pain.  
  
Aragorn was taken aback at first, but immediately returned the hug, happy for the comfort.  
  
"Worry not, ion-nin." Elrond said, soothingly. "I will help him to the best of my ability and more. He shall survive. Have no doubts." He intended to keep to that, too, going against his thoughts from before. He did not want for his son to go through this again, unsure if his elven friend would come out alive. The last time it had happened, with the poison, it almost was as if the human was going to die of the Elven Sickenss: grief. He wouldn't let his son get that depressed again!  
  
"Hannon le, ada." Aragorn said, reassured. He knew his father did not give his word lightly and would not break it, either. Elrond would try **everything** in his poiwer before the blonde would die. The human was **very** glad that Elladan had been able to revive Legolas. None of the others knew just how glad he was.  
  
Elladan and Elrohir (who woke again when they stopped) were saddened by the display in front of them. Both human and elf were usually able to keep their emotions in check, especially around so many people. However, the stress of recent events was wearing them down, as it had before. Elladan's thoughts went back to when Aragorn had broken down to tears in his arms.  
  
Aragorn rapidly blinked his eyes to stop the tears that were forming. He would not cry, especially not here with all the warriors around.  
  
The two finally broke apart.  
  
Elrond smiled at his son, glad that he could ease some of the stress the human had over the whole situation.  
  
The elf-lord then decided that it was time to set off again. They didn't want to waste anytime.  
  
The main reason they had stopped to begin with was because Legolas had been waking. However, the elf had fallen asleep within a few minute of waking so he figured they'd get in as much time as they could before he started to stir again. They should be able to reach Imladris within a few hours or so at the pace they were going. They had been riding slower so as not to jostle the injuries of the archer, human, and the younger twin as much as possible. All of which had pretty severe wounds.  
  
Elladan's injuries weren't really that bad for the battle they had been in and for how long he had fought. He was the only one that had come out of the fight relatively unharmed. Although he did wish he could have traded places with any of the three and spared them their pain, especially Legolas, since he still thought it was his fault to begin with.  
  
Thônor once again helped Aragorn to Lor and then mounted behind the human. Aragorn hated that he needed the help and felt like an invalid, but went along with it, knwoing it to be best. He also knew that his father would force him to get soem type of assistance if he didn't anyway. It would make his father very unhappy indeed. And he did not want to make him even more mad then he already was. Although he was really only concerned at the moment. Wait until Legolas recovered and.. Ai! there'd be some lectures then!  
  
Everyone was on their horses and ready to go. Elrond gave the command and they were once again headed to Imladris, like so many times before.

* * *

A couple hours later and Legolas started to wake again. This time he felt the jarring movements of the horse and cried out weakly in pain. His breathing was coming in quick gasps as jolts of pain shot through his chest.  
  
Elrond immediately halted Faun in concern. Legolas' breathing was becoming much too quick!  
  
"Legolas. Calm down, everything is alright. Slow your breathing." The elf-lord coaxed. "That's it. Breathe with me, penneth." Legolas was against Elrond's chest and coudl feel the rhythm of his breath intake. He tired to copy it, but failed. It became increasingly difficult for him to draw air and his vision soon filled with gray.  
  
"Legolas! Keep trying!" Elrond insisted, fearfully. At this rate... "Come on, Legolas!"  
  
All of a sudden the elf in his arms went limp. Terrified Elrond checked his pulse. "Oh Valar..."  
  
His worse fear had come true: Legolas had actually stopped breathing.  
  
Aragorn (still on Lor), who was next to his father, felt panic race through him. "Not again.." He whispered, frightened. _You must make it, Legolas._ _You must!_  
  
He saw his father jump off Faun and lay Legolas down.  
  
Elrond hated wasting time, but he could not even **attempt** to revive the archer with him in his lap on the horse.  
  
Everyone stared at the horrifying sight before them. They couldn't believe it. And wouldn't! They all had faith that the prince would indeed breath again.  
  
After what seemed like eternity Legolas finally gasped loudly, taking in a large amoutn of air. He started coughing harshly afterwards. When a few minutes passed Legolas finally had his breathing under control.. for the most part. It was heavy and still quick, but not anywhere near as quick as it had been before.  
  
Elrond hugged the elf fiercely, glad beyond belief over his recovery. "Thank the Valar!" He exclaimed, eyes closed behind the elf's back.  
  
"**Never** do that again!" Aragorn shouted, greatly relieved. He had prayed that his father woudl be successful and thankfully he most certainly had! He would have embraced Legolas himself, but Thônor's arm around his waist prevented him from doing so. He was none too happy about it either. However, even if he did get off Lor and tried to stand he doubted his leg would support him... not that he'd admit that out loud.  
  
Elladan, Elrohir and all the warriors had visibly relaxed after hearing Legolas breath again. That had sure frightened everyone; there was no doubt about that!  
  
Elrond decided that he should check out the elf's chest injury to see if it had reopened. He didn't wish to cause Legolas pain, but it was unavoidable while he was awake. He had to make sure the wound wasn't bleeding again.  
  
He was relieved when he found that it hadn't reopened and hadn't started to bleed again. He put more herbs on it and rebandaged it. During the process Leoglas was unable to stiffle a cry of pain. He was much too weak to attempt anything, especially after the recent attack on his breathing.  
  
The pain in Legolas' chest never abated and it felt like a vice had an overly tight grip on it. The pain, however, did at least subside slightly, for which he was grateful. While Elrond was treating it, it sent a sharp pain throughout his body. He was thankful when the healer finally stopped treating it and let it be. He sighed in relief and let his body relax fully, though he hadn't even realized it was tense to begin with.  
  
When Elrond heard the young elf sigh and saw his body relax when he stopped he felt bad for checking the wound, though he knew it was best. He knew he had hurt him, but couldn't help it. His sons were around him, too; also feeling sorry for the elf. Everything always seemed to happen to him.  
  
The elf-lord ordered everyone to continue when he felt Legolas was ready. Luckily, only after a few minutes into the ride Legolas had fallen back asleep. Elrond was concerned about the amount of sleep that Legolas was needing, but reminded himself that it was required when one lost a large amount of blood, and was totally exhausted. He just let the blonde elf sleep, knowing it was for the best. The more rest Legolas received the better. His body getting plently of rest would help his healing ability as well.  
  
Elrond still coudn't believe Legolas had stopped breathing. He had come WAY too close to death.  
  
The elder elf looked down at the elf in his arms and smiled. For once Legolas looked like he was getting the right kind of rest. He had a very tranquil look on his face that showed the possiblilty of a very good dream.  
  
_Good. Sleep peacefully, penneth._ He thought, happy that he had such a content look. This was probably he most relaxed Legolas had been since... well, in a **very** long time. Before he had been poisoned. Probably when he had been with Aragorn on their "simple" hunting trip, which had started everything. _Funny how that turned out._ He inwardly laughed, dryly.

* * *

"Ada! Ada! Look!" Elrond heard Elladan call to him.  
  
Aragorn had fallen asleep in Thônor's arms after another hour into the trip, being far too exhausted for a human to possibly stay awake.  
  
The healer looked at his sons and saw that both were pointing ahead of them.  
  
He looked to where their fingers pointed.  
  
The elf-lord stared in shock. He had been so focused on Legolas that he hadn't noticed that they were finally within sight of Imladris.  
  
"We shall be there shortly now, penneth." Elrond whispered down to the injured elf that had woken a little while ago.  
  
Legolas smiled quickly, glad over the news.

* * *

Any advice on my writting ability is always welcomed... n.n;;  
  
How'd you guys all like it? Heh.. they didn't **run** into any trouble this time, though they did have some with Legolas... -.-;; -shrugs- Well, I do hope you all enjoyed it.. n.n  
  
I was going to post a story especially for halloween, but.. yeah. I don't really celebrate it anywayz. But.. yeah... _Happy Halloween!_

_**Plz Review!**_  
  
Ja ne, minna.


	25. Recovery Time

**Disclaimer**: Nope, nope.. I really want the expansions!! It's not cool that I don't have them I tell ya! --sniff sniff--

Can't they freakin' make up their mind with the uploading ish... 

Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.

Wasn't too long of a wait.. was it? 

* * *

_Review Responses_

**HarryEstel** - Aww.. well, hope everything went well... n.n

**galadriel evenstar** - Lol.. thx, thx.. --bows-- n.n;;;

**Deana** - Lol... we all know he needs it, too... Does that poor elf _ever_ get a break? Nah.. he's not allowed.. --grins--

**Mornflower** - Eeeesh... sry! The only reason I don't is cuz I have nothin' to do.. and I was at my father's. If I was at my mother's then I prob'ly woulda went to my friend's and celebrated or somethin'. That better? n.n Lol... thx, btw.. n.n

**empath89** - yup yup... hope the update was soon enough.. n.n

Lost a couple people.. oh well... still gettin' reviews and I love you guys for reviewing. I'd draw you all a pic, but I can only draw anime/manga pics. Sry. That's the only treat I have to give, too. ;-; And, unless you like both then.... yeah.

* * *

**If it's not one thing, it's another**

**Chapter Twenty-five**

**Recovery Time!**

* * *

He felt himself being lifted and then carrried. He slowly opened his his eyes that felt like lead. When he finally managed to open them, only half-way, he saw blurry images.

"Legolas?" Elrond questioned the elf in his arms. He was glad to see him awake and seemingly not in much pain, though he did look out of it.

Legolas had fallen back asleep soon after the excitment of seeing Imladris, he had just been way too tired to stay awake. Elrohir had also fallen asleep not long after Legoals and was now being carrried by Elladan.

They had finally arrived. Everyone was relieved to make it inside.. not running into any danger along the way. The injured made their way to the Halls of Healing, following Elrond, who was carrying the prince.

The elf-lord looked down and saw that Legolas had closed his eyes once more in sleep. He was getting tired of seeing the elf's eyes shut while he slept.

"Did he fall asleep already?" Aragorn's concerned voice asked from Elrond's side. The human was once more being supported by Thônor and was on his way to the Halls of Healing with the others.

Elrond sighed and nodded.

The two were silent the rest of the way.

Once they arrived at the doors a warrior opened the door for Elrond, and the others, of course.

The elder elf nodded in appreciation. He then made his way to a bed and carefully lowered Legolas on to it, mindful of his grave injury, not to mention all the others he had.

Thônor led Aragorn onto another bed and the human sat on the edge of it. "Thanks for the help."

"Of course. Do you need anymore assistance?" He wanted to make sure the human was comfortable, or as comfortable as one could get with a chunk of skin being ripped out by a warg. It could take Elrond a while to get to him, after all. The elf-lord was sure to treat Legolas properly first, seeing on how fatal his injury was.

"No, but thank you." Aragorn said, smiling.

Thônor smiled back, and left to see if he was needed elsewhere.

Aragorn saw Elladan gently lay Elrohir onto another bed. The elder twin then pulled up a chair and sat next to him, waiting for him to wake.

Overall, there were only seven people wounded when the others that helped the wounded left; that included Aragorn, Legolas and the twins.

The ranger watched as Elrond finished treating the blonde elf and then came over to him. The elf-lord was trying to see whose wound was the worst and going by that. The more severe injuries did need to be treated first. Aragorn wanted to help his father, but was sure that the elder elf wouldn't allow him to move around. Sure enough, when he inquired Elrond gave him a stern no that had left no room for argument.

His father then pushed him back into a sleeping position. "Worry not about others and take care of yourself for once. I have everything under control. Now sleep."

Without meaning to the humna let his exhaustion take over and he quickly fell asleep.

Elrond sighed in relief. He didn't think he would be able to get Aragorn to sleep so easily.

He looked around at the rest of his patients. _Five left.  This could take a while..._ He though. He was tired himself, though he wouldn't let that show to any of the remaining patients, especially Elladan. _Well, it could have been a lot_ _worse and the injuries more serious. _ He looked over at Legolas to see the elf still breathing.

Elrond quickly got to work on his other patients. First being Elrohir. He was glad that he was still asleep. It made treating him a lot easier.

The elf-lord found that he should have treated the younger twin before Aragorn with all the injuries he had. It didn't seem like he had so much before. Most of them were covered by his clothes. All together he had a broken arm, that , thankfully, had a makeshift cast, a deep gash in his leg and shoulder, and of course, the stab in his abdomen. He'd have to make a better cast for the arm and treat everything else. Most of it looked like it had been treated already, which was better since some of these could have really given the elf trouble if they hadn't been already. The younger elf also had many injuries that covered his body, but they weren't as severe as the others.

Elrond wondered what happened to cause Elrohir to have so many more wounds than anyone else. He brushed it off and decided to think about it later. He'd ask one of his sons about it.

After he treated Elrohir, who was still peacefully sleeping - though he hadn't been so peaceful when he was being treated - he went to his other patients. Fortunately, none of them had serious injuries and it didn't take too long for them to be able to leave and let the ones that had to stay, mainly Legolas, get some rest.

Elrond sighed deeply, his mask fell, showing his fatigue from the battle, ridding all day, and night to look for his sons and then from all the worry over his sons as well.

"Really, father, you should take care of yourself." Elrond heard to his left. A small chuckel was heard when he saw the elf-lord jump slighly in surprise. "Get some rest, ada. All your patients are well treated and sleeping."

Elrond turned to face Elladan and gave him a small smile. "Aye, all except you, ion-nin."

Elladan opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by his father. "Besides, I am fine and still need to stay by Legolas' side in case... **it** happens again." He said sadly, a frown quickly replaced his smile.

Elladan's face also matched that of his father's. He knew to what he was referring to with the 'it.' 'It' was when Legolas had terrified all of them and had stopped breathing. They definitely wanted at least one person to be watching Legolas at all times, especially when he was sleeping, just to be on the safe side. This would be the hardest night to get through; the one that they needed to watch him the most, since it was the first night that he would be sleeping after his fatal wound.

Elladan knew he wasn't going to win against his father, so gave up.. for tonight. Tomorrow his father would definitely be getting some rest. No question about that.

He was exhausted and he knew he had accidently showed it, for the elder elf forced him to leave Elrohir's side and rest in a different bed. That's exactly what he was trying to get him to do! Except his father had more control over his actions than he had over his father. Besides, he couldn't stay awake even if he **had** to. His eyes were closing on their own.

Elrond allowed his mask to fall, no one was awake now, so he could stop pretending. He was glad that all of his sons were finally able to get the much deserved, and needed sleep they had obviously wanted. Both Aragorn and Elladan had fallen asleep without even meaning to and Legolas and Elrohir were already sleeping.

The elf-lord pulled up the chair that Elladan recently vacated and brought it to Legolas' bed, preparing for a long night. _Should not be too hard._ _I have done this so many times before. _ He thought about every other time that one of his sons, or Legoals would come to him serverely wounded. He had to stay by their sides many times... not that he minded. He just wished they would stop running into so much trouble. They had done so far too many times, **way** too much for him to even **begin** to count! Every time they returned it was **never** in one piece. Everyone of Imladris knew this; in Mirkwood, too.

* * *

In the middle of the night Elrond was brough back to full awareness by a groan followed by a whimper of pain.

He was confused at first but then found out who it was coming from. He turned to look at Legolas and found him tossing and turning, trying to escape something. This was weird. What brought on this nightmare? Had the blade been poisoned? There had been no signs when he had treated him before, though.

Another whimper brought him back to Legolas. He started to call Legolas' name to get his attention. He didn't want to be too loud, however, since he didn't want to wake his other patients.

Elrond was worried when, even after shaking the distressed elf, he still wouldn't wake. He could tell Legolas was starting to panic in his nightmare. His breathing was getting quicker and quicker. "Oh Valar..."

Elrond tried harder to wake the elf. He wouldn't have a repeat of before. That had been too close.

Finally the blonde elf gave a piercing scream and jolted upright. He immedately gasped in agony and fell back, the move aggravating his chest wound.

"What happened?" Aragorn asked, concerned; now fully awake. The loud scream startling him awake.

The others in the room had also been woken up.. only the ones that weren't close to the prince still slept. The elf-lord ignored all questions, more worried about Legolas.

"Legolas, stay still. Do not move." Elrond commanded, softly. He made sure Legolas had slowed his breathing enough, then he quickly went to the counter to retrieve the herbs that were needed. Because of how he had been twisting in his sleep and sitting up so fast, the chest wound would most likely have reopened.

Elrond looked at the archer's face and saw his eyes tightly closed. He was also gasping in pain, clutching his chest.

"I am going to check the wound again, penneth. Bear with me." Elrond warned the pained elf.

The only response he received was Legolas opening his pain-filled eyes and looked at him. It was answer enough. It seemed like he was still alert.. for the most part at least.

Legolas vaguely heard Elrond swear under his breath when he had seen the bandages. _Must have reopened._ The blonde elf though, not surprised. The agony shooting through his chest made him even more miserable. _What else can--_

Legolas was abruptly cut off from all thoughts when he let out another piercing scream. The pressure that Elrond had added - probably to stop the bleeding - caused the agony to double, and had caught him unprepared; he had been unable to prevent the scream. He was left panting heavily and barely clinging to consciousness. He knew it woudl be a bad idea to sleep at the moment, but he was jsut so tired...

Legolas hardly heard his name being called as he slipped into the realm of unconsciousness, where there was no more pain.

"Legolas!" Elrond shouted, frightened. After the scream had torn loose from the elf's throat he had begun to breathe heavily; then fell unconscious.

The elf-lord immedately checked for a pulse and was immensly relieved to find one, though erratic.

Then he focused on the injury once more; putting all of his energy into making sure the young elf in front of him survived. The Lord of Imladris didn't break his promises!

Luckily, he had been able to stop the bleeding quickly. He also had the herbs already prepared, in case something similar to this happened to one of his patients. Good thing he had it ready!

As he checked the wound this time he took extra precautions by looking for poison harder than before. He thoroughly checked and still found nothing.. not that he was complaining!

_Perhaps I should take another look at his other wound._ The healer thought, referring to the wound that **had** been poisoned. Maybe there was some lingering poison. He very much doubted it, though, but it never hurt to be absolutely sure... well, it woudln't hurt now that Legolas was unconscious anyway. Before it most definitely would have!

"Adar, waht was that about?" Aragorn tried again, worry heard in his voice. Elladan and Elrohir, who were both worried over their friend's current state, were still awake and looking at their father for the answer.

"He was woken by a nightmare and reopened his injury." The elf-lord absentmindedly replied, not wanting to be bothered at the moment.

The three looked at each other, worry reflected in all of their gazes. They all knew Legolas couldn't afford to lose much more blood. They had laready lost him a couple times. They didn't wnat it to be permanent!

Knowing his sons' distress he turned to them, confidence showing in his eyes. "Sleep, my sons. All is well. You need not worry."

The three reluctantly settled back down, waiting for sleep to claim them again. They knew that even if they got up to help their father, he would never allow it. They needed a lot more rest, for it was just the middle of the night and they hadn't received much sleep as it was.

With no distractions Elrond was able to return to his patient. He sighed heavily and got to work.

His sons had heard the healer and felt sorry for their father. They knew how much he needed to get a good night's rest.. probably even more than them! However, there was nothing they could do about it.

* * *

Yup yup.. so there's that chapt. I hope you all enjoyed it. And, btw, I am having a lot of problems typing so sry if there are a lot of typos. I'll try to fix them soon.

Hmm... the next chapt will prob'ly be the last.. not exactly sure.. but it prob'ly will be. Kinda sad.. this fic has been up for quite a while.. since March.. O.O That's crazyness! Dude, it's freakin' crazy it's like less than a month away from my b-day. I just realized that.... Hmmm...

The next chapt to this will prob'ly be up tomorrow.. or I guess it would be today, seeing as how it's 12:40am.. --shrugs-- It might not be though... But I **hate** what I did to my other fic.. I don't even know how the words appeared there! They just came outta no where! --sighs-- I'm pathetic.... Well, we'll just see what's goin' on...

Hope all of you peoples are still enjoying this!

**Plz Review!!** ...it makes my day... seriously...

Ja ne


	26. It was just a few scratches

**Disclaimer**: Still don't own... sadness 

Sry 'bout all the grammer and/or spelling mistakes.... I tried to fix it up as much as I could, but I prob'ly didn't do that great of a job on it... sry.

Well, I finally got a chance to type the chapt up. I've had it ready since Monday.... I finally got time cuz I'm sick and had to stay home... not fun... well, the stayin' at home part is.. but.. yeah. I hate bein' sick... it makes me sad. Not to mention the fact that my family keeps makin' fun of me cuz lost my voice.... ;-; Sadness.... again. I'm also sry about all the spelling mistakes.. I'm sure there are goin' to be a lot.

* * *

_Review Responses_

**Piegon** - Aww.. I'm sry to hear about that... glad I could make ya feel better though! And who _doesn't_ love Legolas torture? You'd have to be crazy not to! n.n;;

**SNAITF** - Lol.. you know you love that habit! n.n I sure do... and I can't help it! Hurting him is so much fun! Wow.. that sounded kinda... really.. wrong... -.-;; Aww.. well, it's good to have you back!

**Deana** - And I can't wait to hear your response on it! n.n;; I really hope ya like it.. it is the last one, after all... ;-;

**InsanePirate624** - Yayness! Nice to have ya back! n.n At least you could still read them, though! I don't know what I woulda done if I couldn't at least _read_ them... I would lose the sanity I have left... n.n;; Nah, the Valar doesn't hate him.. just wants to make sure he's tough and prepared for anything to come in the future. --grins-- Ya know there's goin' to be a lot worse comin' to the poor elf.. always is. I know! I can't believe it's goin' to end either! I mean, it's been out for so long. Almost 30 chapts long, too. That's freakin' crazy! I was originally plannin' on, like, 10ish... -.-

**empath89** - Why the nightmare? shrugs I wanted it... n.n;; That's really bad... I'm sry! I feel bad for the poor elf, too! -.-

**galadriel evenstar** - Lol.. as do we all!... as do we all...

**HarryEstel** - Lol.. yeah, but what fun would it be if we gave our poor favorite elf a break? None at all I tell ya! I definitely would be bored! Well, I could always find _another_ character to torture... wait, I already am! n.n;;; Gotta love the torturing! --shifts eyes-- Yeah, Elrond doesn't get a break either.. though at least he's not bleeding to death... o.O

Alrighty.. well, I really hope you guys enjoy this, for this will be the last chapt to this. There will be some info at the bottom of all this ish, too.. just to let you all know. I don't want to write it up here, though.. you guys will prob'ly forget about it, since you'll be readin' the chapt in a min... n.n Enjoy!

* * *

**If it's not one thing, it's another**

**Chapter Twenty-six**

**It was Just a Few Scratches**

* * *

The rest of the night had passed by unevenful, which Elrond was grateful for. He was exhausted and everyone knew it. He could no longer hide behind his mask.

"Ada, go get some rest." Elladan said, concerned about his father.

Elrond opened his mouth to protest but before he could get the words out his eldest son spoke. "I shall wake you later. I am rested enough to watch the others. You, however, are in great need of sleep. Now, go." Elladan started to push his father to the door.

"Alright, alright. I shall go, but only this one time." The elf-lord knew he wasn't going to win this time so decided to please his son.

The elder twin nodded. "Good. Do not come back till you have had at least five hours of sleep." Elladan said as if he were the parent in the relationship.

"But if--"

"If things go ill I shall wake you." Elladan said, knowing what his father was going to say.

Elrond stared at him puzzled, but he didn't inquire. He turned and left to his own room.

Elladan chuckled softly. "I know father far too well."

"Are you confusing our poor father again?" He heard a tired voice ask.

"Of course not, dear brother. I am merely helping him." Elladan turned and smiled at his twin. "Glad to see you finally awake. How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Elrohir answered; saying exactly what Elladan thought he was going to, though he wasn't 'fine' at all.

To prove the elder twin's point, Elrohir tried to sit up, using his arm. He gasped in pain and fell back, clutching his arm. _Oh, that's right. It was broken. _He thought wishing he had remembered sooner.

"Be careful. You do not want to make it worse." Elladan warned a bit too late. He went over to where Elrohir was laying and arranged his pillows so he could stay in an upright position, like he was trying to do before. Then he helped his twin up and eased him back so he was comfortable.

"Hannon le." The younger twin said gratefully.

"Of course." Elladan smiled at his twin.

Then he went over to Legolas' bed to check up on him. He did say he would watch the blonde elf.

"How is he?" Elrohir's now serious voice asked.

Elladan sighed. "A lot better than before."

"He never gets a break, does he?" Elrohir asked rhetorically, looking down at his hands.

"No. No, he doesn't." The elder twin said, looking at Legolas, who actually looked calm.

There were a few minutes of silence before either spoke up again.

It was Elrohir who broke the silence. "How is Estel fairing?"

Elladan turned to look at their human brother. "He is fine. He has not woken yet, but that is only because he is exhausted."

Elrohir nodded in relief. He hadn't been able to see just how much the human had been wounded, for he had either been unconscious or fighting the orcs with him.

"You should eat something." The elder twin told Elrohir, going over to the counter and grabbed the food that was left there for himself. However, he had been too worried to eat anything. The food hadn't been sitting there too long so the food wasn't cold. He brought the tray over to his brother and handed it to him.

"You need to eat as well, gwanunig-nín." Elrohir then told him to sit next to him and that he would share his food.

The elder twin smiled and took the offer.

The two ate in silence, only every once in a while would one of them talk. Occasionally Elladan would look over at Legolas to make sure that everything was well with the elf, like he promised.

* * *

He slowly felt awareness come back to him. Then he remembered how badly injured his friend was and that he didn't know what his current condition was.

"Legolas!" Aragorn shouted and tried to get out of bed. He hissed when the movement caused pain to run through his leg. However, he ignored it and still tried to reach his friend, who he saw was still sleeping; he didn't know if that was good or bad.

"Estel, it's alright. He is only resting." Elladan said comfortingly, pushing his brother back down.

At first the human resisted, needing to see the archer for himself. His still weak body couldn't put up with the treatment, though. Also, hearing his brother's comforting words helped him to relax.

"Just resting?" Aragorn asked, seeing if he heard right.

Elladan nodded. He was relieved that Aragorn had finally calmed down. He feared that he would reopen the wound on his leg and make matters worse for himself. "Let me take a look at your leg." He didn't want to take any chances with the human.

Aragorn closed his eyes and slowly nodded, his exhaustion taking over his mind.

Elladan brought back the covers and unwrapped the wound, glad to see that he had indeed calmed him down in time. He rewrapped it and brought the covers back over Estel.

The dark-haired elf looked up at his brother's face, seeing that he was close to sleep. "Estel." He called his name to get his attention. He hated not letting him get the rest he needed, but he had to. "You need to eat before you sleep again. I know you have not had much to eat, if anything, recently."

The human wearily opened his eyes and let his brother help him into a sitting position.

Then Elladan went to the doors; opened them and looked around. Luckily, there was a maid walking by.

"Excuse me, miss, but could you bring me some food for a patient?" He asked with a smile.

"Of course, my lord." The maid said bowing and then left for the kitchen.

Elladan went back to Aragorn, closing the doors behind him.

"You need to stay awake." He told the human upon seeing his eyes closed again.

"I am." Aragorn muttered, sleepily.

"Barely." The elder of the two chuckled. "You know, you and Legolas still have a lot of explaining to do for ada."

The ranger looked up at his brother and rolled his eyes. "That just makes me want to sleep even more."

Elladan let out a heart-felt laugh, one that he hadn't been able to do in too long.

"I do not find it amusing." Aragorn grumbled.

"Of course not, my brother. Of course not." Elladan said, rubbing his brother's head.

The human swatted his hand away. He crossed his arms across his chest and turned his head.

This display only caused Elladan to laugh even more. Aragorn could also hear his other brother join in the laughter.

"Elrohir! I knew not that you were awake!" The human exclaimed, glad to see him finally awake.

"You did not inquire, little brother." Elrohir responded, trying to stifle his laughter; not doing that great of a job at it.

Aragorn lowered his gaze, looking at his hands. "Forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive." The younger twin said, seriously, though mirth still shown in his eyes.

Before the human could protest further, there was a light knock on the door.

Elladan got up and opened it, finding the maid with food. "Here's the food, my lord. I hope it is satisfactory." The dark-haired maid said, handing the food to Elladan.

"Aye, it is. Hannon le." The tray actually had more food on it than was needed, but that was for the better. Aragorn was bound to be hungry, after all.

The maid bowed again and said farewell, before going back to her duties.

While he had been talking to the maid Elrohir and Aragorn had their own conversation. The younger twin knew that the human would probably end up falling asleep if someone didn't keep him alert.

"Eat up." Elladan said, putting the tray of food on his brother's lap.

When Aragorn started eating he turned his attention to Legolas again. He was glad to see that he was at least sleeping peacefully. Surely a good sign.

Aragorn followed Elladan's gaze and smiled sadly. He was happy that the blonde elf was finally getting the rest he needed, but he was also sad that Legolas still hadn't waken yet. _Well, it seemed like he did not get a restful night. _The human thought, remembering the scream from the nightmare Legolas had that woke all the patients in the room. He shuddered, never wanting to hear a scream like that from the elf again.

"What's wrong, Estel?" Elrohir asked, concerened, for the human had stopped eating and was staring at Legolas.

Aragorn snapped out of his thoughts. "Nothing." He said quickly and continued eating.

The twins looked at each other, but let it go, there was no sense in prying. They could guess what it was anyway.

As it turned out Elladan had been right. Aragorn had been really hungry and ate all but a few bites of the food that had been set in front of him.

After he was done eating Elladan took the tray from him and set it on the counter... he'd put it away later.

Aragorn settled back down, wtih the help of Elladan, of course, and quickly fell asleep.. now that he was allowed to.

"You should sleep more, too." Elladan said, taking care of the patients that were now his. Although he would **always** take care of them.

Elrohir just agreed. He thought that his twin should sleep as well, but he knew that he had to watch over Legolas so didn't even bother trying. There would be no way he'd be able to convince him to - not that he wanted to. Sure, he wanted Elladan to take care of himself but he also knew the condition Legolas was in. He also knew that his twin told their father that he'd watch the prince until he came back.

Elrohir laid down and within seconds he was comfortable. He soon joined Aragorn.

Elladan sighed and this time brought the chair over to Legolas' bed. He wished the archer would wake soon. He wanted to see him be so full of life again, instead of being as still as the dead. _Shall not continue with that thought..._

But there really wasn't a dull moment when the blonde elf was well. The four of them **always** had fun, especially when they pulled pranks on the others who dwelled in Imladris; even on each other.

"Wake up soon, mellon nin." Elladan said sadly, running his hand through the elf's golden hair.

* * *

The doors opened suddenly causing Elladan to quickly look over.

Nothing had happened for hours. All of his brothers were still fast asleep and Legolas had shown no sign of waking.

"Father." Then the elder twin looked at the window. _He really did get the amount of rest I told him to. _He thought with a smirk. _In fact, even more._

"Why did you not wake me?" Elrond asked his son, in slight anger, though he was really grateful for the rest he had received.

"Legolas has not stirred yet." Elladan inforned his father with a frown.

The healer mirrored his expression. "Then he should wake very soon. I thought he would have by now."

"As did I." The twin said looking at the archer in front of him.

An hour later neither Elrohir nor Aragorn woke, but that was to be expected.

Elrond and Elladan were starting to get anxious, for Legolas still hadn't shown any signs of returning to them yet.

Because of this Elladan thought it was just his imagination that made Legolas move slightly. However, when he moved again shortly after and Elrond had seen it as well, he knew it was no trick.

Elladan excitedly waited for the blonde elf to open his eyes and his father prepared some pain-killing herbs for him.

* * *

He fought against the darkness that was surrounding him. He heard excited voices all around him and wanted to know who they were and what they were saying.

Then they became clear. It was Elrond and Elladan! But wait... where were Aragorn and Elrohir? How did the battle go? He couldn't remember what had happened after he fell unconscious when the orc had stabbed him.

His eyes snapped open. He had to know what happened!

"Legolas!" The two shouted, not expecting him to wake so suddenly.

"Calm down, penneth. All is well." Elrond said, soothingly. It was obvious something was bothering the elf. _At least he did not try to sit up this time. _He thought thankful. That didn't help last time and certainly wouldn't this time!

"But what about Aragorn? And Elrohir?" The young elf asked panicked.

"Nothing is wrong with them. They are resting." Elladan reassured his friend calmly. "See? Aragorn is over there." He said pointing. "And Elrohir is there."

Legolas looked at both of them, seeing that they were indeed alright. He then remembered Elrond and his warriors rescuing them and then he calmed down. However, when he did the pain in his chest made itself known. He gasped in pain, clutching his chest.

Elladan looked at the archer, feeling guilty. _I should have been more alert. _He thought about the battle.

"Do not.. blame yourself, mellong nin.. for it is not your fault." Legolas gasped out, after seeing the look on Elladan's face.

The elder twin looked at his hands and nodded, accepting Legolas' words, although a part of him still believed it was his fault.

"Stop talking, penneth, and drink this." Elrond said, handing the poor elf the herbs he had prepared before. He first arranged the pillows behind him so he would be able to drink it. He was careful about the injury on the elf's chest.

Legolas took the drink without question and quickly drank the whole thing. He hadn't realized how thirsty he had been.

"Legolas!" Aragorn shouted, happily. When he had woken up he found his brother and father around Legolas. He then saw that his friend was sitting up and awake. At last!

Said elf turned his head to look at the human and smiled when he saw that his friend really was alright.. not that he doubted Elrond...

Elrohir, who had woken up at Aragorn's rather loud shout, looked up at the excitment. He smiled widely at the sight. Legolas was conscious and well; even joking around by the sounds of laughter that rang through the room.

Aragorn and Legolas looked at each other and grinned. They had survived yet another mishap, with a few 'scratches' here and there, but they were alive!

"Oh, and before I forget. Estel, Legolas, you two have a lot of explaining to do.." Elrond stated sternly.

The human and elf groaned.

* * *

Well, that chapt was actually a lot more happy than I intended it to be. It was one of the few that were.. n.n And, yes, this is the last chapt. ;-; It's so sad... Thank you everyone so much for reviewing and just for reading! You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

There will be a sequel to this, but it **will** have shounen-ai/slash in it. I'm sry to those of you who do not like it, but I have been planning on writting it since, like, chapt five. Enelya Aldarion suggested it and I thought it was a good idea... I don't know if she's even still reading this or not, but that's alright, I know some other people reading this like shounen-ai/slash anywayz. For those of you who do not like it I will post other fics that do not have it.. LotR ones. In fact I already have one planned. More Legolas torture.. not physical this time, though... n.n So keep an eye out for it... n.n

I hope you guys all enjoyed this chapt.. it was pretty fun to write... Let me know what you all think. And if there is anything missing... with my writting abilities.. I would appreciate it if you could tell me so I can improve it... 'kay? n.n

Well, hopefully I'll see some of you in the sequel... n.n

**Plz Review!!** C'mon.. it's the last chapt! ...you know you want to...

Sayonara


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